Smith Jiaa !cC?l
 
 AN 
 V 
 
 AUTO-BIOGEAPHICAL MEMOIR 
 
 |rfrua gorrhardu^ gorrfoii.^, ^^,, 
 
 CIVIL COMMISSIONER OF CAPE DIVISION AND RESIDENT MAGIS- 
 TRATE FOR CAPE TOWN AND DISTRICT THEREOF, AND 
 CAPE DISTRICT. 
 
 A PLAIN NAUEATIYE OP OCCURRENCES 
 
 FROM EARLY LIFE TO ADVANCED AGE, 
 
 CHIEFLY INTENDED FOR HIS CHILDREN AND DESCENDANTS, 
 COUNTRYMEN AND FRIENDS. 
 
 CAPE TOWN: 
 
 A. S. ROBERTSON, ADDERLEY-STREET. 
 1861.
 
 SAUL SOLOMOU & CO., PRINTERS, CAVK TOWN.
 
 1)^ 
 
 DEDICATED BY PERMISSION TO 
 
 SIR GEORGE GREY, K.C.B., 
 
 GOVERNOR AND COMMANDER-IX-CHIKF AT TFIE CAPE OF GOOD HOPK 
 
 BIGH COMMISSION F.l! OF BRITISH KAFFRARIA, &c.. Sic, i-c, 
 
 WITH ESTEEM AND REOARD 
 
 BY HIS MOST HUMBLE AND OBEDIENT SERVANT, 
 
 P. B. BOHCHERDS, Senior. 
 
 *~l O ■'^. n 
 
 'iZSZ
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 Having been spared to reach my seventy-first year, and to 
 serve ray native country as a civil servant for about fifty- 
 six years, and being father of a family of 
 
 Children, 17 
 
 Grand-children, ... ... ... 30 
 
 Great-grand-children, ... ... 10 
 
 Children-in-law by marriage, ... 12 
 
 Total 69 
 with the prospect of leaving a numerous descendancy, 
 and being as yet favoured with the partner of my life by my 
 side since 1806, and enjoying a day of rest (having retired 
 from the public service), and thank God ! still in possession 
 of the faculties of mind and body, I undertake the task of 
 giving to posterity a plain account of my life, intermixed 
 with such historical sketches as I may consider of some 
 interest, partly from memory, partly from information, notes, 
 and documents in my possession. 
 
 It will, I am confident, be gratifying to my family and 
 friends and pleasing to myself to recall to mind remem- 
 brances of da3's long past, and give me opportunity of 
 paying a tribute of gratitude to parents and valuable friends 
 for the many acts of love and kindness and consideration 
 which I have been favoured W'ith, and especially of those 
 friends to whom I am indebted for promotion in my public 
 career and many blessings which have attended me through 
 life. 
 
 It will afibrd me opportunity to recall to memory my early 
 time, the companions of my youth, the happy days of home
 
 VI 
 
 and family circle, and the pleasures enjoyed amongst the 
 villagers of that beautiful little town Stellenbosch, where up 
 to my fifteenth year I spent my early days, free from the 
 care and trouble which attend after-life. 
 
 It will further bring me back to the period when, under 
 the auspices of Government, I had opportunity of seeing my 
 native country, travelling to assist in exploring the interior 
 beyond the Orange River and to open communication with 
 various tribes of the bordering aborigines. 
 
 Moreover, it will lead me through the various occupations 
 and employments of a public servant from 1801 to 1857, 
 and leave room to communicate events and observations 
 during the changes of Government and under the adminis- 
 tration of twenty Governors and Lieutenant-Governors, and 
 the public men with whom more or less I had the good 
 fortune to come into contact, and to indicate how far I took 
 a share in those institutions which were created to promote 
 education, literature, and science in this colony. 
 
 Whilst planning so extensive a course over so wide a field 
 and extending over a period of upwards of half a century, I 
 feel almost discouraged ; for my education was restricted to 
 the limited advantages enjoyed by the colony in my youthful 
 days, — days far less favourable and advantageous than the 
 present, and not comparable with the enlarged scale established 
 for mental improvement enjoyed by the youth of our day. 
 
 Indeed, it is only trusting that the good intent and object 
 in view will be kindly considered that induces me to make 
 the present attempt, hoping that He who has so mercifully 
 guided me through life will not withhold the means and 
 ability, so that my offspring may read with satisfaction this 
 plain account of their ancestor, that my countrymen who, 
 through their representatives in Parliament, were pleased to 
 bestow on me a public testimonial and recognition of my 
 past career when advanced years compelled my retirement 
 from service, and my other friends may judge of my pro- 
 ceedings during an interesting course of public and private
 
 life ; and my young fellow civil servants be taught that a 
 strict adherence to duty continued with zeal and integrity, 
 the colonial service ensures ample reward to those who will 
 persevere and surmount obstacles and who are true and 
 faithful to their task, and that the South African public 
 feel and are capable of appreciating and estimating the 
 public servant whose life has been devoted to their welfare 
 and interest. 
 
 P. B. BORCHERDS, Senior, 
 Bellevue, Wynberg, January, 1858,
 
 CONTENTS or MEMOIR. 
 
 SECTION I. 
 
 MY ANCESTRY. 
 
 Writer, when and v.here born — Parents — Ancestors — Rev. M. 
 Borcherds' appointment as Minister for the Cape— His 
 voyage and arrival — Marriage and family — Appointment as 
 Minister in Cape Town and afterwards at Stellenbosch — 
 Additional duties — Pension — Death — Mrs. Borcherds' demise 
 — The burial and ceremony — Effect of their loss — feeling of 
 the parish — His state of mind after her death — Causes which 
 led to leave his native country and seek foreign employment 
 — Effect of a fire in his family mansion — Government letters 
 approving of his conduct as Minister — Course of his study — 
 Descriptions of the fire in his mother's house — Original note 
 thereof and his mother's distress — His doctrine and general 
 character — Sociality — Principles — Learning — Love of poetry 
 — His framing the family register — Contributions to the 
 Cape press— His poem " De Maan" (The Moon) — Hisacting 
 as secretary and preses of the Synod — Presentation of a silver 
 vase by his congregation after forty years' service — Prayer 
 on the last birthday of Mrs. Borcherds — Number of his 
 family — Duties performed — Sums collected — His salary — 
 Prayer and thanksgiving in June, 1830 — Barend Borcherds, 
 a heemraad, smpposed to be the ancestor of the family 
 Burgers— Origin of the family Borcherds — Family arms — 
 Comparative description of his native country — Last produc- 
 tion — Depression of spirits— Origin of the family de Wit or 
 White — The maternal ancestor — Employment and situation 
 of Mr. de Wit, the grandfather — His connection with the 
 English — Loss of family papers. . . . Page 1
 
 SECTION II. 
 
 DAYS OF CHILDHOOD AND BOYHOOD. 
 
 Village school — Schoolmaster and parish clerk — Author's elemen- 
 tary instruction — Parish school described — Extent of instruc- 
 tion — Object — Duties of parish clerk — His cleanliness and 
 habit of teaching it — Failure of appearing with clean shoes — 
 First and only punishment — Schoolmistress — Her cakes — The 
 master's birthday — Scholars' expression of gratitude — Meeting 
 of school-fellows on play-ground — Bathing in Eerste Rivei' — 
 Canary birds gathering in front of the school — Reflection on 
 happy days of boyhood — Family trip to Overberg (over 
 the mountains) — The ancestor of the Theunissen family — 
 Sunday service under trees — Bontebuck excursion — Shooting 
 an ostrich — Good eifect of the pastor's visit — Difficulty of 
 reaching church — One matrimonial court only in Cape Town 
 — Inconvenience of reaching that court — How composed — 
 Questions put to parties — Ceremony — Arrival of English 
 fleet in 1795 — Signal guns — Effect at Stellenbosch — Depar- 
 ture of the burghers — Numbers of their companies and men — 
 Distress of their families — Arrival of families from Cape 
 Town to seek refuge — Annual exercise of the burghers — 
 Cavalry — Kermis (fair) — Visit of Governor and authorities 
 and others from town to witness the parade — Refreshments — 
 Description of a burgher officer mounted and in uniform — 
 Visit of Swellendam burghers — Effect of martial spirit on 
 the boys — Capitulation and particulars — Disturbed state of 
 the colony in 1795 — Difficult position of Mr. Commissary 
 Sluysken — Complaints of the burghers — Names of members 
 of court of policy. ...... Page 18 
 
 SECTION III. 
 
 TRAVELS TO INTERIOR OF AFRICA. 
 
 Author leaves home — Employment as assistant secretary to a 
 Government expedition to explore the interior of South 
 Africa — Kind conduct of Commissioners Truter and Somer- 
 ville and Secretary Daniel — Publication of plates by the 
 latter — Departure from Cape Town with six wagons — Outfit
 
 — Merchandize sorted by Mr. G. A. Watermeyer — Expense 
 of the expedition — Journey from Cape Town to the boundary 
 — Route — Occurrences when travelHng — Description of 
 Roodesand (now Tulbagh) — Present Worcester — Hex River's 
 Kloof — A troop of baboons — Violent storm — Stay at a 
 shoemaker's at Verkeerde Valley — Kindness of Field-cornet 
 Jacobs and his Avife — Intense cold — Entering the Karoo — 
 Difference of country — Oxen strayed — Preparations made by 
 Landdrost of Stellenbosch — Meeting Messrs. Wium and 
 Verster — Disappointments — Desire from author's father for 
 his return — His reasons for proceeding with commissioners — 
 Roggeveldsberg unoccupied — Inhabitants had left for the 
 Karoo to save their flocks — Addition of another wagon — 
 Six farmers joined to guide and protect expedition — Suffering 
 from cold and rain — Fishing in Riet River — Description of 
 the fish — Success and cooking — First tracks of a lion — 
 Leaving Great and proceeding to Little Riet River — Two 
 farmers joined — Description of country passed — Bokkeveld — 
 Inhabitants — Places — Remarks or manners, productions, &c. 
 — Custom of farmers moving from Rogge and Bokkeveld to 
 Karoo in winter — Descriptions of habitations — Mountains 
 passed — Appearance of country — Ascending Roggeveldsberg 
 — Description —Appearance of land beyond — Heaths — Mode 
 of living— General character and occupation of inhabitants 
 — Manners — Religious disposition — Roggeveld then belong- 
 ing to Stellenbosch — Commandoes — Annual disposal of 
 cattle and jDroduce — Butchers' servants — Dress of farmers 
 — Their happy state — Disposition — Want of education and 
 information — Peace with Bushmen — Privations —Reaching 
 boundary. ....... Page 41 
 
 SECTION IV. 
 
 ROUTE FROM BOUNDARY TO LETAKO. 
 
 Route and distances — Nieuweveld — Missionary station — Sack 
 River — First meeting with Bushmen — Description of their 
 conduct — First quacha shot — Description — Kruger's grave — 
 Another visit from Bushmen — Their conduct— Presents —
 
 First track of the rhinoceros — First sprlngbuclis seen — Ap- 
 proach to Orange River — Ford — Sensations on seeing the 
 river — Description of banks — Islands — Fish — Hippopotamus 
 — Pebbles, Sec. — Birds — Monkeys — Springhaas — Squirrel — 
 Joined by Missionary Edwards and Jacob Kruger — Sir 
 John Barrow's description of the latter — Sheep carried across 
 the River by Bushmen — Their conduct — Author's attempt to 
 swim across the river — Nearly drowned — His life saved by 
 a Bushman — Preparation to cross the ford — Excursion 
 to shoot hippopotami — Description of meeting some and 
 scenery — Danger on crossing the country through holes dug 
 to catch game — Grave of a Bushman Captain — Custom in 
 passing it — The ford crossed — One wagon in danger — Oxen 
 drowned — Assistance of Bushmen — AVhite crows — First 
 Kora or Korannah Captain — List of words in their language 
 — Rock salt — Presents to Koras — Camp of Bastai'tl Hot- 
 tentots under a farmer Jan Kok — His discourse on regenera- 
 tion — Arrival at Rietfontein — Missionary station — Church 
 and service — Names of missionaries — Engagememt of two 
 interpreters in the Beriqiia or Boshuana language — 
 Departure — Dr. Somerville and Mr. Daniel missed — Uneasi- 
 ness in consequence — Visit to cave of red earth mixed with 
 iron ore — Used by natives as pigment — Camp at Yzerberg — 
 Effect on compass needle — Lake Cossey — Description — 
 First buffaloes met — Three shot — Also a wildcat — Detention 
 — First camelopard met — Also a strange buck named Ta- 
 zectzie — Arrival at a fountain Klaboeligani, after thirty 
 hours' travelling without Avater — Effect on men and ani- 
 mals — Approach to Patant, — Chief Serakoetie — Opening 
 intercourse with Boshuanahs — First meeting of these 
 people — Their cheerful conduct — Real name of the tribe — 
 Visit of chief Serakoetie — Entertained — His admiration of 
 tents, wagons, and particularly of the art of shaving — Applied 
 to himself at his own request — Anecdote — Description of 
 his person — Secretary discovers the source of the Kuruman — 
 Description of stream — Thunderstorm and hail — Kameel- 
 doorn (Mimosa Giraffe) — Articles of trade exhibited to Sera- 
 koetie — Presents given — Guide left by Serakoetie — First 
 missionary station founded at Mapiri,near Rev. Mr. Moffat's
 
 XUl 
 
 present station — Intelligence received of Chief Molihaban'g 
 intention to give tavourable reception — Commissioners pro- 
 ceeded unarmed with interpreter to that chief, and well re- 
 ceived — Arrival at Letako — Camp — Molihaban's visit — Des- 
 cription—Surprise of the people — Appearance in arms — 
 Author's detention to satisfy curiosity of the natives — Goes 
 by the name of ** Piti" — Object of expedition opened to 
 Molihaban — Narrative of attack of Jan Blom on the Boshu- 
 anahs — Cruelties committed — The merchandize sorted found 
 not suitable to the taste — Beads only selected — Agreement 
 made about traffic cattle — Camp visited by a wolf — First 
 Gallah buck shot — Description — Ruins of a large town 
 near Letako — Gardens — Extent and population of town — 
 Barrolongs — Molihaban's objection to further proceeding 
 — His reasons — Number of cattle bartered — Departure — 
 Presents left— Kind expression of natives on leaving — Re- 
 turn by natives of strayed cattle — Toy or Touw young 
 native — Molihaban's sociability — Proceeding to Patani — A 
 gna shot, materially differing from the common description — 
 Hottentot wounded by li^n — Departure from Patani — 
 Parasols of feathers — ^Lonely situation of Missionary Edwards 
 and family — Rencontre with three buffaloes — Superintendent 
 Scholtz severely injured —Narrow escape of secretary — On 
 returning, the distance of thirty hours' travelled without water 
 crossed in seventeen— First black rhinoceros killed — Des- 
 cription — And the second a white — Also three blue eland 
 (elk) antelope — Complaints against marauders Africander 
 and Stephanus (a Pole) — Entertained— Assistance required — 
 Resolution to proceed to Kokskraal — Discharge of the farmers 
 — Failure of expedition communicated to Government — 
 Merchandize exchanged for cattle to lighten wagons — Fish 
 caught in Orange River — Kora herds — Their singing — 
 Loxia nests — Arrival at ford T'Keys — Crossing five islands 
 — Rising of river — Destruction escaped — Meeting of Danzer, 
 a Kafir captain — His narrative of Africander's cruelty — 
 Arrival of Bastard Hottentots to attack Africander — Chapel 
 of Stephanus — His doctrine — Arrival at Kokskraal — Ex- 
 pedition against Africander- His cruelties towards the Nama- 
 quas — Alarm about Africander — Project to i-eturn by Hantam
 
 failed — Writer mounted on a pack-ox — Meeting of four sea- 
 cows — Reception at a Kafir kraal — Gathering of locusts by 
 Bushmen — Honesty of Kora's character — Plan of secretary 
 and writer to kill sea-cows — Failure and loss of route — Ab- 
 sence of three days and two nights — Suffering — Reception at 
 a Bushman kraal — Narrow escape — Reception at the camp — 
 Biishmen beating the " rommelpot" — Presents to them — 
 Departure from Orange River — lieturn to old route — Bush- 
 men treated with a sheep — Their joy — iMode of dividing — 
 State of privation — Karrie Mountains — Meeting of Rev. Mr. 
 Kicherer at former missionary station — Eland shot — Hotten- 
 tots paid off — Dr. Somerville left for Cape Town on horse- 
 back— Garden at Tanqua River — Schurfdeberg — Government 
 letters received to come to town and leave the wagons in 
 charge — Description of Mr. Scholtz - His habitation in the 
 mountain — Witzenberg — First sight of Table Mountain — 
 Kind reception of Mr. de Wet, at Roodezand — Of Mr. Vos 
 at Maastricht — Wagons overturned — Arrival in town — Return 
 to Stellenbosch — Reception of parents and family — Sir John 
 Barrow — Report and accounts — Final return to Stellenbosch 
 — Saving of twenty -five pounds. . . . Page 59 
 
 SECTION V. 
 
 ON BUSHMEN — BASTARD HOTTENTOTS — KORAS OR KORANAHS — 
 BERIQUAS OR BOSHUANAHS. 
 
 Bushmen — Their country — Wandering life — Huts — Small stature 
 — Appearance — Clothing in karosses — Appearance of females 
 — Weapons — Making poisoned arrows — Occupation — Pursuit 
 — Suffering of females — Mode of obtaining food — Means to 
 check hunger — Gluttony — Smoking — Fat smearing and 
 drinking — Signal of peace — Music — Deep povertj' — Fight- 
 ing — Favourable instances of character — No religion — 
 Property of bee-hives — Bastard Hottentots — Orange River 
 — Its course — Borders — Production — Capability — Settle- 
 ment of these people and independence — Origin of the race — 
 Dress — Superiority — Koranah servants — Cattle — Chief sub- 
 sistence — Sport — -Chief Cornelis Kok — His property in sheep
 
 XV 
 
 — Policy about Bushmen — Mode of living — Religious habits 
 — Power — Korahs or Koranahs — Their resemblance to 
 Hottentots — Habits — Taking service — Division in small 
 hordes — Government — Food of berries, milk, honey, &c. — 
 Polygamy — Mode of carrying children — Original tribe — 
 Contented disposition — Imposition on them by Stephanus — 
 His doctrine — Missionary labour — BeriquasorBoshuanahs — 
 Description of men — Dress — Ornaments — Snuff-taking — 
 Copper earrings — Plates — Armrings — Weapons — Occu- 
 pation — Warriors — Hunters — Use of kerrie — Milk bottle — 
 Karosses made by men — Their attachment as herdsmen to 
 cattle — Wood and earthen pots — Severe task of the women — 
 Their dress — Headdresses —Cultivating gardens — Grinding 
 corn — Cheerful disposition — Snuff-taking — Feasts — Singing 
 — Song; — Dancino^ — Fire linrhtino; — Kind-heartedness — 
 Young companions — Effect of report of fire-arms — Horses — 
 Area of town — Effect of first visit — Vocabulary — Reverend 
 Mr. Moffat's missionary establishment — Progress of natives 
 — Favourable impression left by the chief — His mode of com- 
 manding — His advice on proceeding further into the country 
 — Regret of commissioners not being able to visit the 
 Barrolongs — Parting from Chief Molihaban. . Page 109 
 
 SECTION VI. 
 
 Writer's return to Stellenbosch — Rejoining office — Description and 
 early history of that village and district — Situation — Distance 
 from Cape Town — Establishment by Governor Van der Stell 
 — Origin of name — First heemraden (councillors) — Their 
 duty — Early population — First landdrost — Secretary and 
 messenger — Undertaker — Introduction of taxes — Annual fare 
 — Exercise of arms — Mark-shooting at parrot — Drilling Mas- 
 ter — First corn mill — Fishing under licence — Commonage — 
 First churchwardens — Election of heemraden — First parish 
 clerk and schoolmaster — Planting of trees recommended — 
 Original name "Wild Bush" — Snow on mountains — 
 Effect of snow on orange trees — Fruitful soil — Trees — Vine 
 — Vineyards productive — Variety of fruits — Healthy climate 
 —Supply of water — Waterfall — River's benefit to village and
 
 XVI 
 
 places — Population of village in 1825 — Streets — Squares — 
 Public buildings — Opening of church and school for slaves, 
 now coloured people — Early establishment of missionaries in 
 the colony and village — Contributions — Number of slaves in 
 Cape Town — Desire to know the early history of the village 
 — Events from 1670 — 1718 — Disturbance by a rebel, Bar- 
 bier — Share taken by inhabitants — Measures of Government 
 — Robberies of Bushmen — Humane instructions about 
 natives — Hottentot Titus cause of disturbance — Commando 
 ordered — Representation of landdrost and hcemraden on the 
 distressed state and poverty of inhabitants in 1709 — Expense 
 of commando paid by district — Meeting of Governor Swel- 
 lengrebel and his addx'css and advice to the authorities — 
 Effect thereof — Governor-General van Imhoff's visit — His 
 remark on ignorance and indifference about religion in the 
 country — Proposal to add two churches — At Roodezand 
 (now Tulbagh) and Zwartland (now Malmesbury) — His 
 anxiety to improve moral condition — Transport of produce — 
 Navigation of Berg River — Extent of country required in 
 1745 — Additional heemraden — Establishment of Swellendam 
 — General history required — 1747, a day of fasting and 
 prayer ordered — Arrival of prisoners of state from India — 
 Their residence at Stellenbosch — Purchase of parsonage at 
 Paarl— Opinion against increase of population — Comparison 
 — Price of meat — Appearance of leprosy — Poverty of inha- 
 bitants in 1757— Difficulties — Drostdy house burnt down — 
 Small-pox appeared — Precaution of Government in 1812 — 
 Introduction of vaccine — Village threatened with destruction 
 by overflow of Eerste River — Measures taken — Prices of 
 provisions in 1769 — Limits between Stellenbosch and Swel- 
 lendam fixed — Drunken husband punished by enlistment as 
 a soldier and sent to Batavia —Building of powder maga- 
 zine — Origin of law about passes — Occupation of land by 
 Kafirs contrary to treaty — Report of a commando — Capture 
 of cattle and division — Proposal to build a bridge over 
 Beror River in 1782 — Establishment of Graaff'-Reinet — 
 Consideration on the introduction of taxes — Application of 
 inhabitants of Roggeveld to occupy certain Hottentot kraals 
 rejected — Authority to deprive vagrant natives of arms
 
 — Amount of district revenue — Incursions of Bushmen — 
 Landdrosts ordered to meet commander of garrison on means 
 of defence — Plan of erecting public schools— Colony in 
 charge of Mr. Commissary A. J. Sluysken— Law to execute 
 slaves in the country, when disabling themselves, with capital 
 punishment, retracted— A slave executed at Stellenbosch 
 under authority of landdrost and heemraden— Reasons given 
 —Last resolution of the board in 1795— Circumstances when 
 the English fleet arrived— Resignation of Landdrost Bletter- 
 man — Introduction. ..... Page 135 
 
 SECTION VII. 
 
 Srate of the colony in 1795— Surrender to the British— Effect- 
 Oath of fidelity taken— Duty of landdrost— Letter to board 
 —Settling of public matters— Arrival of Dutch fleet in 
 Saldanha Bay— Requisition of wagons and cattle— Thanks 
 of Governor Craig to heemraden— Hottentots turbulent in 
 Namaqualand— Capture of five farms— Murder and robbery 
 committed— Field-cornet ordered to assemble inhabitants to 
 resist— Orders to prevent cruelty and obtain peace— Desired 
 effect of the commando— Retirement of disturbers to Orange 
 River— Report of Africandei-'s murders and robberies revived, 
 and his retirement with a body to said river— Commando 
 ordered— Tumultuous commotions at Graaff-Reinet- Force 
 dispatched— Twenty inhabitants arrested— Governor's views 
 —Public peace preserved in the district— General Dundas' 
 personal visit to frontier— Remarks on his proceeding- 
 Attacks of Kafirs and Hottentots— Commandos from Swel- 
 lendam and Stellenbosch— Fifty whites murdered near Swart- 
 kop's River— Progress of enemy— Zuurveld abandoned- 
 Government letter on murders and robberies committed - 
 Commando from Stellenbosch ordered under Mr. J. G. 
 Cloete, commandant- Sensation at their departure— Dra- 
 goons stationed for protection of inhabitants— Africander 
 continues to disturb— Reports of further murder of a 
 family in Roggeveld and disturbance in Hantam— Com- 
 mando authorized— Murder of Cornells Coetzee by his own 
 slaves and Hottentots, and extensive plunder— Pursuit —
 
 xvin 
 
 Report of Field-cornet Kruger — Wheat collected for Britisli 
 garrison and expected Batavian troops — Peace in Europe — 
 Colony to be returned to the Dutch — Kafirs and vagi-ants — 
 Advanced as far as Plettenberg's Bay — Commando ordered 
 — Reverend Mr. Borcherds' remarks and comparison — Close 
 of British administration — Prosperity enjoyed in the village 
 — State of religion — Introduction of printing press — Effect 
 of proclamation that the colony was restored to the Dutch — 
 Peace of Amiens — Relief of oath— Advice of Commissary- 
 General de Mist against patrolling, for fear and apprehension 
 about the Hottentots, and his views — Cession of colony 
 suspended — Reception of order — Measures adopted by British 
 commanders — Agreement between them and the Dutch 
 governor and commissary general — Dutch garrison encamped 
 near Wynberg — English troops re-occupy castle and barracks 
 — Orders to proceed with cession received— English troops 
 embark — Writer on the point of leaving parental roof — 
 Intention to make some remarks about the village previous 
 to departure. ....... Page 162 
 
 SECTION VIII. 
 
 DESCRIPTION AND OBSERVATIONS RELATIVE TO STELLENBOSCH. 
 
 The old parsonage — Description thereof — Good feeling of parish- 
 ioners — Writer's parents — His happy position — Family 
 proceedings and mode of living — Churcli— Sabbath service 
 — Baptismal and mariiage ceremonies — Catechism — Closing 
 of service— Slaves, their instruction — Form of confirmation 
 — Admission of coloured people — Election of ministers — 
 Poor children — Drostdy house — Public buildings — Extra 
 allowance to landdrost for entertainment — Duties of former 
 landdrosts — Board of landdrost and heemraden — Finance — 
 Jurisdiction — Secretary — Field-cornets — Messenger — Police 
 — Writer's respect for the board — Meeting of the board — 
 Their mode of proceeding — Selection of heemraden — Matri- 
 monial court — Marriage by that court made legal — Repeal of 
 authority— Order to be solemnized by ministers — Registry of 
 n)arriage continued — Scenes in the matrimonial , court—
 
 Description of inhabitants — -'Classification — Affluence —Tena- 
 city of rank — Hospitality — Establishment of young beginnera 
 - — Maintenance of rights — Family government — Usual habits, 
 Bible and religious books — Family instruction to slaves — 
 Opinion on slavery — Power of punishing slaves — Opinion 
 on corporal punishment — Comparison of former and present 
 system — Homes of respectable families — Family scenes — 
 Society of Stellenbosch — Excursions in the vicinity — To 
 Waterfall — Description thereof — Anecdote of danger caused 
 by baboons — Hottentots' Holland — Visit to Strand — Pic-nic 
 — Zandvliet— Kindness of people — Fishing — Mr. H. Cloete, 
 of Nooitgedacht — His hospitality, &c. — Danger of child 
 carried by a baboon — Description of a morning and evening 
 scene — Remark on (he foundation of the village — Its original 
 inhabitants — Reference to village pastor — Summer morning 
 — Conversation — Paternal lessons— Dawn of day — Continu- 
 ation of lessons — Rising of the sun — Religious remarks and 
 observations — Feelings between parent and child — Winter 
 evening — Fatherly lessons continued — Beauty of winter days 
 — Production of flowers, &c. — Feelings about tlie country — 
 Family altai* — Lessons to a lad closing his fifteenth year — 
 Evening hymn — On closing the day — Writer's farewell to 
 villasre. ........ Page 176 
 
 SECTION IX. 
 
 Preparation for profession — Change of destiny — Appointment as 
 amanuensis and clerk in the office of the Court of Justice — 
 Constitution of Batavian court — Act of amnesty for political 
 offences — Opportunity to obtain legal knowledge — Employ- 
 ment in Governor's office — Performance of burgher duty — 
 Reception of colours — Ceremony on the occasion — Militia 
 duties — Secretary to board of discipline — Uniform — Prepara- 
 tion to join battle at Blueberg — Close of martial occupations — 
 Hospitalityof grandmother and uncle — Her death — Description 
 of former appearance of Keyzers and Heerengracht — Sociality 
 — Habits — Newspapers — Hospitality of residents in vicinity 
 of Cape Town — Government garden — Public amusements —
 
 Society-house — Mode of living — Church attendance — Holy 
 Sacrament — Appearance of Reformed Church — Police and 
 Municipal bodies — Garrison — Government — Town and 
 country establishments — Events on return of the colony to 
 the Dutch in 1803 — Day of public thanksgiving ordered — 
 Engagement of Hottentot servants — Support of burgher 
 senate — Report of General Janssens about the interior — 
 — Establishment of Society " Tot nut van 't Algemeen " — 
 First apprehension of disturbance of peace in Europe — 
 Preparations for defence — Principles of burgher diity — 
 Military execution — Rumours of vrar — Two Government 
 places, " Rustenburg and Paradys" offered for sale — General 
 release of Kafir servants — Commissary General visits the 
 interior — General's address to inhabitants to co-operate in 
 defence —Limits of Swellendam, Uitenhage, and Graafi- 
 Reinet fixed — Four Bushmen killed — Investigation — 
 Damage to waterpipes — Enlistment in militia corps in town 
 — British subjects ordered to Stellenbosch — Caution — Signals 
 established — Wagonpark — Requisition of forage — Powder 
 magazine at Swellendam — General's plan to occupy the 
 interior — Paper currency — Plantation of wood encouraged — 
 Commissary-General's farewell address and departure — 
 Desertion of Hottentots — Attack — Burghers killed — Educa- 
 tional establishment — Law about missionaries — Foundation 
 stone of water reservoir on Parade — Post- wagon to Stellen- 
 bosch — School ordinance — Scarcity of wheat — Governor's 
 queries to notables on state of the colony — Church regulations 
 — First post-wagon started — Ordinance for country districts 
 — Requisition for forage at low prices — -Voluntary supply of 
 wheat by inhabitants — Last slave sale — First intelligence of 
 an English fleet — Contingent of Hottentots ordered for 
 military service — Arrival of English fleet — Preparations for 
 defence — Strength of land force — Detachment to Blaauwberg 
 — Movements and march of Dutch troops to field of battle — 
 Account thereof — Retreat of regiment of Waldek — Strength 
 before and after battle — General Janssens' retirement to 
 Hottentots' Holland mountains — Correspondence with the 
 Engli!?h General— Honourable capitulation of town and
 
 XXI 
 
 country — Loss in battle — Strength of British force — March 
 into town — Writer's continuation in office — Close of Dutch 
 Government — Account of Van Riebeek the founder of the 
 colony. ........ Page 229 
 
 SECTION X. 
 
 Van Riebeek — Writer's object — First settlement — Van Riebeek's 
 first arrival at the Cape — His representation to settle the 
 colony — His considerations and suggestions — Teaching native 
 language and religion — His proceeding in three vessels under 
 special instructions — Arrival — Term of service — Chief 
 object of settling — His zeal — Desire to be removed — His 
 salary — Closing of his service and council's opinion — Depar- 
 ture—One of his sons (Cape-born) Governor- General of 
 India — Memorandum left for successor — Names of tribes 
 — Recommendation to keep peace with the natives — Van 
 Riebeek's character — Religious inclination — Annual celebra- 
 tion of the day of landing — Fasting and prayer — Stringent 
 regulations — Introduction of religion — Eva, a Hottentot girl, 
 taught by Mr. Van Riebeek — Her account of the reception 
 of religious instruction by the Hottentots — First admission 
 of natives to a prayer meeting — Encouragement to instruct 
 slaves — Mode of opening communication with the natives^ — 
 Trade — Cruel advice by a Hottentot Captain, Harry — Van 
 Riebeek's observation on seeing thousands of cattle and 
 sheep — His declining to join in wars — Estimation of Van 
 Riebeek's services by Commissary-General de Mist in 1803 
 — Introduction of his coat of arms at Town-house — Ceremony 
 on the occasion. ...... Page 262 
 
 SECTION XI. 
 
 General Baird's first proceeding — Warning against warfare — 
 Mr. Van Ryneveld appointed chief civil magistrate — His 
 proceedings — Sorrow expressed on his death — Burial — 
 General character — Writer's proceeding to Stellenbosch after 
 the capitulation — Sir David Baird's peaceable disposition —
 
 Noble expression regarding General Janssens' troops — 
 Capitulation of garrison — Writer continuing as clerk under 
 the British Court of Justice — Promotion — Duties — Notarial 
 practice — Marriage — Customs and ceremonies on the occasion 
 — Day of marriage — Decorations — Kindness of relatives — 
 Feeling after union of nearly fifty-two years — Case of 
 insurrection of slaves in 1808 — Detail — Meeting of an old 
 friend — Promotion to secretaryship of Stellenbosch — Happy 
 result — Lord Caledon's opinion on the promotion — Public 
 events between 1806 and 1810 — Sir David Baird's departure 
 — Addresses to His Excellency — Supreme medical committee 
 — Evening gun loaded with shot — Reward offered to find 
 the offender — Arrival of Lord Caledon and Secretary Barnard 
 — Court of Appeal and Vice- Admiralty Court appointed — 
 Encouragement to wool-growers — First wagon with wool 
 arrived in town — Lombard and Discount Bank — Rds. 150,000 
 advanced — Ap]>ointment of Mr. Van Ryneveld as president, 
 and Mr. J. A. Truter as Fiscal — Establishment of Cape 
 district — Pardon to all deserted slaves — Hottentot contracts 
 introduced — Promotion as Deputy Fiscal — Departure from 
 Stellenbosch — Effect of change of office — Disappointment 
 and subsequent increase of salary — Close occupation — Extra 
 duty — Secretary to Commission of Inquiiy — Sir John Truter 
 chairman — First intimacy with him — Appointment as member 
 of a committee to frame general placaat — Promotion as 
 member of the Court of Justice — Sir John's letter on the 
 occasion — Judge on two circuits — Appointment as permanent 
 Sitting Commissioner— Jurisdiction — Appointment as Judge 
 of Police— Justice of the Peace — Commissioner of Matri- 
 monial Court — And Court of Request for Slaves. Page 282 
 
 SECTION XIL 
 
 Writer continued as Judge of Police and Resident Magistrate 
 till May, 1834 — Sir Benjamin D'Urban's communication 
 that offices of Civil Commissioner and Resident Magistrate 
 were to be united — Salary of .£800, reduced to ,^'500, with 
 house-rent and travelling allowance — Judge of Police 
 separated from magistracy — Increase of duty and responsi-
 
 bility — Nature of die same — Retirement and pension offered 
 — Service continued - ^100 house-rent allowed — Effect of 
 reduction — Hope of redi-ess— Secretary of State admitted 
 that the measure pressed severely — Hope given on improve- 
 ment of colonial finances — In reply to Sir Benjamin's 
 dispatch representing the case most strongly to favourable 
 consideration — Second memorial — Case again and urgently 
 recommended — The Secretary of State's deep impression of 
 the hardship of the case and strongest wish to afford relief, 
 but no redress — Third memorial — Earnest recommendation 
 of Governor to favourable consideration — Secretary of State's 
 answer — No redress — Painful position — Retired life — Pro- 
 motion sought — Memo)'ial noted — Application for only 
 ^100 — Sir George Napier's favourable despatch — After 
 attempts unsuccessful — Account with Government — Result 
 and effect — Application to Lieutenant-Governor Darling, 
 to ascertain pension — Writer's gratitude for being spared 
 — Reason for recapitulation — Parliamentary grant of gratuity 
 of £-2,000 Page 314 
 
 SECTION XIII. 
 
 Lieutenant-Governor Darling's despatch forwarding writer's 
 memorial for favourable consideration — His Honour's opinion 
 of service performed — Refei-ence to Parliament— Motion in 
 House of Assembly — Opinion of the House— Message of 
 Lieutenant-Governor — Motion in Legislative Council — 
 Resolution adopted — His Honour's reply by message — 
 Addresses forwarded to Secretary of Slate — Sir George Grey's 
 message to House of Assembly calling attention to Mr. 
 Borcherds' case — Gratuity granted — Allowed by Legislative 
 Council — Sir Andries Stockenstrom— Sir John Wylde— The 
 Honourable Godlonton and Ebden's speeches in sujjport — 
 Address to his Excellency the Governor to place the gratuity 
 on the estimates — His Excellency's message in return — 
 Letter from Colonial Office, placing the grant at disposal — 
 The Governor's opinion — Reply thereto — Additional duty as 
 acting judge and superintendent of police — Indisposition — 
 Medical opinion — Application for retirement after fifty-six
 
 years' service — Governor's reply granting request — Full 
 pension of <£600 allowed — Notice thereof in Government 
 Gazette — Reply — Resignation as chairman of Central Road 
 Board — Appointment as unofficial member — Situations still 
 held — Subscription for a piece of plate as a testimonial — 
 Names of committee — Inscription — Presentation by Attor- 
 ney-General at a public meeting and address — Writer's 
 reply — Expression of feeling — His object in publishing 
 this memoir Page 322 
 
 SECTION XIV. 
 
 Report that the coloured classes intended to attack the white popu- 
 lation — Writer's appointment as one of the commissioners of 
 inquiry— Instruction to commissioners — Proceedings — Result 
 — Report — Letter of thanks — Kafir War Fund — Public meet- 
 ing — Proceedings — Sir Andries Stockenstrom's speech — 
 Lieutenant-Governor Darling's letter on writer's election as 
 chairman and course pursued — Government letter on return- 
 ing the fund — Appointment as chairman of Commission of 
 Inquiry on Robben Island affairs— Commissioners' report 
 and suggestions — Letters of thanks. . , . Page 347 
 
 SECTION XV. 
 
 Appointment as chairman of Central Road Board — Address at 
 first meeting — Board's proceeding on the occasion — Com- 
 missioned by Lieutenant-Governor to open Bain's Pass — 
 Account thereof — Board's arrival at the Paarl — Address 
 to the meeting — Naming Wellington Bridge by Mrs. 
 Borcherds — Arrival at Wellington — Proceedings on visiting 
 and naming Bain's Pass — Address on the occasion and 
 proceedings beyond — Naming Darling Bridge — Speeches on 
 the occasion by Captain Pilkington and others — Account of 
 the visit at Worcester — Return tour — Inspection of roads to 
 Karoo Poort — Opening of Breda's and Grey's Bridges — 
 Inspection of road to Clanwilliam by Piketberg and Pike- 
 nierskloof (now Grey's Pass) — Siteof bridge over Berg River 
 — Position of Road Board in 1855 — Ceasing of board in
 
 1858 under Act of Parliament — Governor's thanks — Writer's 
 appointment as member of Road Commission— And closing- 
 of that board on the 31st December, 1858. . Page 371 
 
 SECTION XVI. 
 
 Case in Magistrate's Court — Opinion of the press on postpone- 
 ments — Writer's explanation — Fii'st election of members of 
 the House of Assembly — Election as chairman — Proceeding* 
 of the meeting, and closing address — Opinion of Honourable 
 Mr. Justice Watermeyer when advocate in writer's case — Sir 
 Andries Stockenstrom's speech in council on the same subject 
 — Documents to which Sir Andries referred. . Page 414 
 
 SECTION XYII. 
 
 Writer's removing from Town to Wynberg — Building Bellevue, 
 on Wynberg Hill — Description — Feelings after retirement 
 from service — The Golden Wedding Day kept and described 
 — Congratulatory Poem of Mr.'Suasso de Lima — Presentation 
 of gilt silver cup and salver — Inscription — Distribution of 
 medals among the children — Description of table and deco- 
 rations — Guests— Silver vase presented to Reverend M. Bor- 
 cherds — Reverend A. Faure's address and Reverend Dr. P. E. 
 Faure's congratulatory poem — Presents of fruit, &c,, received 
 from kind friends — And proceedings of the day. Page 450 
 
 SECTION XVIII. 
 
 Mrs. Borcherds' death and funeral at Wvnberg — Reverend 
 Doctor Faure's address on burial-ground. . Page 472 
 
 SECTION XIX. 
 
 TRIBUTE OF GRATITUDE. 
 
 To parents and friends for their kindness and love, and several 
 gentlemen for the interest shown in writer's welfare ar;d 
 progress in public and private life — Conclusion — Obser- 
 vations on writing this Auto-biographical Memoir. Page 477
 
 AUTO-BIOGMPHICAL MEMOIR, &c. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 SECTIOX I. 
 
 I WAS born in Cape Town on the 8th of July, 1786, at 
 the house of my grandmotlier, the widow of Petrus 
 Johannes de Wit, formerly a member of the court of 
 matrimonial and petty civil cases, orphan board, and 
 burgher senate. Her maideii name was Aletta Jacoba 
 Blanckenberg. The house itself is situate at the corner 
 of Adderley and Darling-streets, and now belongs to 
 Mr. Alexander McDonald. 
 
 My parents were the Reverend Meent Borcherds, a 
 minister of the Dutch Reformed Church, and Aletta 
 Jacoba de Wit. He was born at Jemgum, a village in 
 East Frisia, on the 3rd September, 1762, being the 
 junior of the family : his father was Borchardus 
 Borcherds, and his mother, Titia Kempen. My mother 
 was born in Cape Town on the 31st May, 1762. 
 
 My father completed his studies in theology at 
 Groningen, and received the appointment of minister 
 for the Cape, from the Honourable the Dutch East 
 India Company, in 1784; and left his mother-country 
 on the 22nd December, 1784, in the Dutch East India 
 Company's vessel, Het Meeuwtje (Little Sea-gull), and
 
 arrived here on the 19th April, 1785. On the 13th of 
 May, 1785, he was appointed as third minister to the 
 Dutch Reformed Church in Cape Town ; and on the 
 4th September following, he married, and the issue of 
 that union was three sons and seven daughters. 
 
 Being weak in constitution, he applied to be removed 
 to the country, and the governor and council granted 
 his request. His delivery and voice were better suited 
 for a small church, and his inclination led him to prefer 
 a quiet country life to town ; and on the 17th 
 September, 1786, he received his appointment as 
 minister at Stellenbosch, with the happy result that he 
 officiated in that parish, and occasionally, in addition, 
 at the Paarl, and what is now known as Somerset 
 (Hottentots' Holland), under special appointments of 
 Government, consecutively until 9th December, 1830, 
 when his faculties of mind and body sunk, and Govern- 
 ment was moved to grant him, as emeritus, a pension of 
 £300, under the twenty-sixth section of the Church Ordi- 
 nance, which he continued to enjoy until it pleased his 
 Heavenly Father to summon him to leave this earthly 
 abode, and exchange it, I hope and trust, for the regions 
 of the blessed. This happened on the 28th of February, 
 1832. He was buried at Stellenbosch in the same 
 vault with my dear mother (who had departed this life 
 on the 12th of October, 1830), deeply regretted by 
 children and friends, and the congregation for whom he 
 had laboured upwards of forty-four years. 
 
 His mortal remains were, previous to interment, 
 carried, by members of his congregation, before the 
 pulpit which he had filled so many years, together with 
 the remains of one of his dear friends, the wife of his
 
 3 
 
 successor, the Reverend Tobias Herold, who departed 
 this Ht'e at the same time. The pulpit was covered with 
 mourning ; and the Reverend Abraham Faure, now a 
 minister in Cape Town, who had enjoyed many lessons 
 from him previous to leaving for Europe in pursuit of 
 his studies, and whom the deceased minister was wont 
 to speak of as his young Timothy, delivered a most 
 affecting funeral address, suitable to the solemn occasion, 
 to a large number of the congi'egation ; and when this 
 mournful ceremony was closed, both coffins were carried 
 to the vault, followed by the afflicted family and friends, 
 and deposited a few yards behind the church, where, 
 for some time, stood the bereaved, to take a last farewell 
 glance at the remains of the departed : the sombre and 
 last abode was then closed, and embosomed these 
 reverend and beloved members of the congregation. 
 The village appeared as if in mourning, and long after- 
 wards, even up to this day, their memories are kindly 
 remembered and respected among those who knew them, 
 and shared in their social and religious intercourse. My 
 father had confirmed many as members of the church, 
 had joined almost all the couples then living in the 
 happy union of matrimony, and had administered to all 
 the sacred sacraments. These sacred duties had engen- 
 dered, on the part of his parishioners, feelings of no 
 ordinary attachment ; and the endearing appellation by 
 which he was usually known among them, for many 
 years, was " Father Borcherds." 
 
 It happened when my poor mother suddenly died, 
 that he was in Cape Town. During his absence, she 
 had visited my sister Anna, who married Mr. Hendrik 
 Cloete, Dirk's son, and resided at Mariendahl, near
 
 Klapmuts, where she expired. The notice of her death 
 was received by my father with apparent calmness and 
 resignation ; but soon after, deprived of her who so 
 many years had faithfully and affectionately shared life 
 with him, his feelings were overpowered : it showed 
 itself by deep grief and despondency. Some were of 
 opinion that medical treatment might have prevented 
 that result, for it was clear that, when attacked occasion- 
 ally, a termination of blood towards the brain operated, 
 and caused despair and lowness of spirit ; but I am 
 Inclined to believe that, previous to my mother s death, 
 the mind was predisposed to a sombre view of matters ; 
 for, in the beginning of 1830, he believed that he was 
 suddenly to be removed from his parish. However, the 
 Secretary to Government (now Sir John Bell) kindly 
 wrote to him, and relieved his apprehension. 
 
 On referring sometimes to his native country, he 
 used to mention how melancholy events had led to his 
 choice of leaving for the Cape. His father was in the 
 mercantile profession, and in good circumstances, when 
 part of his property was suddenly lost by the overflowing 
 of the river Eems during the night ; the grandmother 
 was thus left in reduced circumstances, but from the 
 little she saved the expense of my father's studies were 
 met, and when he was near the completion of his course a 
 fire broke out and deprived her of all. When ordained, he 
 left her then at the age of sixty years and a poor widow, 
 with the view of contributing to her support by seeking 
 foreign employment ; and he was gratified in being 
 enabled to send her from hence some support. But she 
 did not enjoy it long. Many were the narratives and 
 particulars of these melancholy events, and in commu-
 
 nicating them to us in the family circle, my father was 
 at times overwhehiied by the feehng and affection he 
 entertained for his beloved and bereaved mother. 
 
 I have found letters of Government approving of his 
 conduct and pastoral care, when he received an increase 
 of income ; and expressing regret at the circumstances 
 which caused his ceasing to officiate. 
 
 After his first examination, in 1783, in the classis, he 
 became candidate, and in the same year he passed his 
 second examination at Embden, and obtained his 
 licentia concionandi of the Royal Prussian East Frisia 
 Consistory ; and he was expecting to be appointed in 
 the neighbourhood of Groningen, when a single spark, 
 which originated an extensive fire in the place of his 
 nativity, determined his fate and choice. Amongst the 
 forty-four buildings destroyed, was the house of his aged 
 sexagenarian mother. He was at that moment in church 
 at Leer, under the audience of Professor Chevalier ; on 
 receipt of the disastrous intelligence, he drove off to the 
 spot, and the following is a part of the original note he 
 made, which shows the affection he felt for his distressed 
 parent : 
 
 " I left the vehicle and ran with all possible speed to 
 my parental home ; the front stood, but the back part, 
 commonly called the schuur (store), was burnt to the 
 ground ! I ran through the few rooms left and found 
 no human being ; but to my consolation, my small library 
 had escaped, and the room in which I studied had hardly 
 suffered any damage, but a store with cloth and other 
 manufactures, which formed the means of livelihood to 
 my family, was much damaged, and in many spots of the 
 lower part (for the house was double-storied) I saw the
 
 6 
 
 fire smothering. A deadly silence and solitude prevailed 
 now in the house, which I had left so cheerfully the 
 same morning ; but out of doors the noise was so much 
 the more awful, from the lamentations of the unfortunate 
 sufferers in the neighbourhood, which arose from the 
 burning ruins of their burnt habitations, and the shouting 
 of some hundreds of people working at the fire engines 
 about one hundred yards distant, attempting to arrest the 
 progress of the fire. I also recollect distinctly to have 
 heard the crushing of the gables and other parts of the 
 destroyed buildings ; it was then about ten o'clock at 
 night, and dark ; but beams, burning in full flames, and 
 several other ignited objects, afforded sufficient light to 
 distinguish everything at that scene of misery. 
 
 " No person, however, could inform me what had become 
 of my aged mother and family, or those belonging to the 
 household. One ought to have seen such calamity to 
 represent the awful effect it had. Finally, I found her 
 in a bleach-field of one of our neighbours ; I saw a heap 
 of linen, and there sat, solitary and sighing, my aged, 
 beloved, and good mother ; I embraced her with all the 
 cordiality of a deeply sorrow-struck son — but neither of 
 us could speak. Ultimately, she called me by my name, 
 entreated me not to press her arm for she had been bled 
 by a surgeon, hastily, a few moments before, and was 
 apprehensive that the bandage might be loosened. And 
 now I really began to feel the danger which threatened 
 her ; I snatched at a burning piece of wood lying a few 
 yards from us, and saw how the blood was flowing from 
 the wound ; but I was successful in drawing the bandage 
 more tight, and thus her life was saved, whilst I relieved 
 her with a drink of cold water, and afterwards by
 
 strengthening and refreshing draughts and with the 
 assistance of our servant maid, who had meanwhile 
 arrived, I further provided for her." 
 
 And this circumstance brought him to tlie positive 
 resolution to proceed to this country ; he applied to the 
 Rev. Herman Hubert at Amsterdam, who was anxious 
 to engage clergymen for the East Indies, and under 
 patronage of his humane friend (for thus my father 
 designated him), and having passed another examination 
 of the classis there, he obtained his appointment as 
 clergyman for this settlement. 
 
 As a minister, he was in doctrine and conduct sound 
 and blameless ; versed in the sciences required for his 
 calling and station, he judged and reasoned with sound 
 understanding, and disapproved of fanaticism ; he was 
 not attached to exterior formalities, but appreciated the 
 inward state and Christian feelings of man, the quiet 
 and unobserved communion with God and acknow- 
 ledgment of the Saviour's merit, and the observance and 
 exercise of religious and moral duties, as fundamentally 
 necessary to raise the building of Christianity. He was 
 tolerant and knew how to impart in conversation the 
 beauties of the Christian religion in such a manner as to 
 teach others to derive from it consolation in life and 
 in the hour of death. He spoke amiably and to the 
 point. Being a great admirer of nature, his attention 
 was fixed on the starry heaven at night, and the wonders 
 of the earth, and he often contemplated them to the 
 honour of the Creator, and His almighty power. Those 
 who had the good fortune to meet him familiarly on a 
 fine evening, at the little summer-house, or at the 
 beautiful, clear stream behind his favoured dwelling " La
 
 8 
 
 Gratitude," can never forget his communications ex- 
 pressive of the greatness and power of God. Cheerfully 
 was he inclined to be a leader to youth and to those 
 destined to follow his profession ; he was a cordial friend 
 and adviser ; he gave most readily full drafts from the 
 fountains of science, and was really happy to find his 
 attempts successful. Nothing was to him more dear 
 than meeting the brother in faith, and pave to him the 
 course in pursuit, and his feeling was never more 
 touched than when brought to recollection of the days 
 spent at the university with his contemporaries. When, 
 sometimes, the conversation of the domestic circle turned 
 on his native country, and the friends left behind, his heart 
 was deeply struck; anxiously he often desired to return, 
 but his numerous family, and limited income, were 
 insurmountable bars ; in latter days, however, and 
 under increasing connections in this country, he became 
 less desirous to repatriate. 
 
 As father of a family, he was indefatigable : his salary 
 which until 1812, only amounted to 1,000 rixdoilars, 
 (£75) per annum, he found insufficient to maintain 
 those entrusted to his care. He therefore bought a piece 
 of land, and cultivated and divided it in his leisure 
 hours ; and it pleased Providence to bless this under- 
 taking, so as to produce further means of support to his 
 family. On part of that property, he built a house 
 (still in existence), and named it " La Gratitude," as a 
 proof that he considered all owing to the kindness of 
 Providence, and placed in the portico the emblem of 
 the " all-seeing Eye," which in this the country of 
 his sojourn had watched over him. In high spirit 
 and tone, he would at times praise and thank the
 
 9 
 
 Omnipotent for this blessing. He used often to repeat 
 this to his children, when exhorting them to trust to 
 God's Providence, relating how he had arrived here 
 with only one golden " ryder,*' and had been blessed far 
 above expectation. He was, with regard to the stranger, 
 hospitable ; and under his roof the " welcome " was the 
 reception of the visitor. Thus lived this village pastor, 
 many years by the side of a faithful and amiable partner, 
 at the head of his family of children. He governed his 
 household gently — pure religion gave the leading tone — 
 the friend was united in the father — sociality charmed 
 the stranger and countryman, and happiness appeared 
 at least temporarily to have taken her seat in that house 
 and family. 
 
 Of extensive reading, and gifted with a good memory 
 and lively spirit, he was courted by the social, and the 
 village circles were kept alive during his presence. 
 
 He was an ardent lover of poetry and an amateur 
 friend of the muses, and his pen often produced pieces 
 of mental and moral worth ; while, as a colonial historian, 
 he was meritorious, and amongst the first. 
 
 In 1812, he framed a family register, considering 
 himself bound to do so as the paterfamilias, and 
 thereto solicited by his children ; and between the 
 ascendants and descendants he placed a poem, in 
 Dutch, which is difficult to translate with sufficient 
 accuracy; but, as it is worth preserving to posterity, 
 I give the original Dutch, and add an attempted 
 translation, both of which will be found in the Appendix. 
 
 When, in 1 800, the first printing-press was introduced 
 into this colony, he produced a poem, thankfully re- 
 ceived by the original " Society to promote Agriculture,
 
 10 
 
 Arts, and Science," established under the patronage of 
 the Governor; and also another, entitled "de Maan" 
 (the moon), and these were the first literary productions 
 of the Cape press. He used to complain, however, of the 
 sad want of taste for reading in those days, inasmuch as 
 even the paper expended in printing was not paid for. 
 
 In 1824, he acted as secretary at the first meeting 
 of the General Synod, and afterwards as prceses, and he 
 was active in co-operating to establish the fundamental 
 rules and regulations which were to guide the colonial 
 Dutch church for the future. 
 
 On the 26th of October, 1826, when he preached a 
 sermon on the fortieth anniversary of his service as 
 minister of Stellenbosch, the churchwardens and congre- 
 gation presented him, in the church, by the hands of the 
 civil commissioner, D. J. van Ryneveld, Esq., with a 
 silver vase, bearing an appropriate inscription. (Vide 
 Appendix.) 
 
 When the service closed, the whole congregation 
 rose, and following their pastor, sang the 133rd Psalm, 
 with feelings showing their cordiality and attachment ; 
 for during so long a period most were known to him as 
 having been confirmed as members of the church, or 
 married, and themselves or their children christened 
 during his ministry : they cherished indeed a fihal affec- 
 tion for him in return. 
 
 The 31st of May, 1830, was the last anniversary of 
 the birthday of my beloved mother; and after my father 
 had mentioned at length some particulars of family 
 history from a written memoir, he closed thus : 
 
 " But at present I will write no more ; and now I 
 offer to Thee, true and living God, whose doing is
 
 11 
 
 majesty and whose acts are holy, my cordial thanks that 
 Thou hast granted to me and my dear partner, life and 
 health, and the means to clothe and maintain this 
 numerous family, and to give them a suitable education, 
 so that most of them have been provided for far above 
 our expectation. Thy great name, Lord, be conse- 
 quently thanked and praised, and, for the future, I also 
 entrust my cares with Christian confidence to thee, O 
 Lord, and recommend them and ourselves to Thy 
 gracious and powerful protection, and, God, to Thy 
 holy and safe guidance. A painful experience has often 
 tauo'ht me how vain it is to trust to human aid. But 
 Thou, Supreme, hath never abandoned or forsaken me, 
 Thy unworthy servant. On Thee alone shall I further 
 fix my confidence and trust, for in Thy hand are all 
 human hearts, both of friends and enemies ; they all are 
 Thy servants, Lord, and, therefore, I pray Thee in 
 private forsake not me or my partner in life, whilst age 
 and grey hairs are attained ; be to us and to our numerous 
 offspring, now and ever, a light in darkness, a comfort 
 in sorrow, and power in weakness. Take us further, 
 Gracious and Almighty God, as our heavenly Father, 
 by the right hand, lead us according to Thy counsel, 
 and when once we shall have served accordingly, take 
 us into eternal glory, for Jesus Christ, Thy beloved Son, 
 our Mediator's sake. Amen." 
 
 On the 8th of June, 1830, the family consisted of: 
 children, 10 ; grand-children, 26 ; great grand-children, 
 5 ; by marriage, 6 ; total, 47. Add to them both 
 parents, 2, will make in all 49. The whole of the 
 family Borcherds,— namely, descendants of, and those 
 connected by marriage with, the Rev. M. Borcherds
 
 12 
 
 amounts in number at present to 158, including the 
 departed. 
 
 He calculated to have preached 2,670 sermons, to 
 have given 2,200 lessons as catechist, christened 4,559 
 children, confirmed 2,125 members, married 879 couples ; 
 and the collections under his ministration amounted 
 to rixdollars 87,600, or £6,570 ; his income to rix- 
 dollars 73,000, or £5,475, or, on an average, annually 
 about £125. 
 
 Having considered these blessings, he thanked the 
 Lord, under date 1 6th June, 1 830, thus : 
 
 "The Lord be praised for all his innumerable bless- 
 ings and support under public and domestic avoca- 
 tions, singular relief from many difficulties and cares, 
 remarkable protection in danger, and against machina- 
 tions and oppression of my enemies, so that having re- 
 ceived succours from God, I may stand in public and 
 private welfare. But I perceive that age has approached, 
 and I know not the day of my departure ; therefore I pray 
 Thee, true and living God, who alone canst save and 
 annihilate, graciously to forgive and expunge all my 
 sins, both of neglect and trespass, in public and private 
 life, against Thy holy law, for the sake of Jesus Christ, 
 Thy beloved Son, and grant me Thy Holy Ghost, this 
 consolation to my soul, that they shall not tell against 
 me, and such, on account of his merits. Grant that, 
 further, I may spend my days, which are few, in peace, 
 my years in loveliness ; keep me and my partner, children, 
 and farther descendants by Thy right hand. 0, Father, 
 who art in heaven, lead us further according to Thy will, 
 and where and whensoever we shall have served it full, take 
 all of us into Thine eternal glorv and salvation. Amen."
 
 13 
 
 In the books of resolutions of Heemraden at Stellen- 
 bosch, he found the signature of Barend Borcherds, 
 in 1700, a heemraad and captain of a burgher corps, 
 and this led him to suppose that this man might have 
 been an uncle, missed about that time, and probably 
 enticed by a recruiting gang into the service of the 
 East India Company ; and that, most likely, he was the 
 ancestor of the family Burgers, settled about the Twenty- 
 four Rivers, and elsewhere in the colony. It is remark- 
 able that when I visited, in 1853, the Olifant's River 
 bath, in occupation of a Mr. Burgers, that, amongst the 
 many names cut since 1 700, in the door of the bathing- 
 room, I found one, apparently of old date, of Borcherds. 
 This confirmed me in the opinion above mentioned. As 
 far as my recollection goes, the Burgers family held that 
 bath in occupation. 
 
 Tradition states the family Borcherds originated from 
 Westphalia, near Halte, a village on the southern limits 
 of East Frisia. They were mostly agriculturists ; near 
 their dwelling stood an uncommonly thick trunk of an 
 oak-tree. These trunks are there named Bor ; the 
 name is thence taken, as the family arms show. Our 
 arms, like our crest, consists of an oak trunk, with a 
 bough projecting from it. One of my ancestors, having 
 distinguished himself in the presence of the Emperor of 
 Germany and the King of France, received an honourable 
 augmentation of the family arms, — namely, the imperial 
 eagle dimidiated with the lilies, the arms of Borcherds 
 being borne in base of the last. 
 
 One of my father's last writings was a description of 
 a flood in 1773, and another in 1775, in his birth-place, 
 and details of the ransom exacted by the French in East
 
 14 
 
 Frisia, whereby his parents had suffered considerably. 
 Having mentioned his sense of gratitude of his favourable 
 position in life, he feelingly expressed himself with 
 respect to his native country in eloquent terms, of 
 which I give an extract in the Appendix. 
 
 Thus sung, for the last time, this affectionate lover of 
 his native country, and dear parent, happy in the circle 
 of his partner and family ; when, suddenly, a cloud of 
 adversity gathered over his grey head, — an arrow was 
 shot, which wounded the heart, and consummated the 
 despondency to which he seemed previously disposed ; 
 and on the 6th September, he wrote as follows : 
 
 "0 ! how has my fate been painfully changed since I 
 wrote my last unfinished line (this was 28tli June 
 previous) ; but 1 bow, great and awful God, with 
 confession of guilt, before thy striking rod. I suffer 
 much, and may suffer still more," &c. 
 
 On the 12th of October following, he was suddenly 
 bereaved of his partner in life. This was to him the 
 last overpowering stroke ; he lost her to whom he 
 imparted his cares and sorrows, and was thus weaned 
 from the earth by the dispensation of Providence ! 
 Suffering from age and infirmity, his apprehensions and 
 doubts increased ; human aid and consolation failed. 
 In the last days, however, when growing weak, it 
 appeared as if the mind was more calm. He prayed his 
 Creator and Mediator, with tears, for support ; and, 
 desirous of changing life, he died in his residence of 
 " La Gratitude," which he had built, leaving two 
 children unprovided for, for whom he sometimes felt 
 the greatest anxiety. I am unwilling to extend these 
 discursive memoirs unnecessarily, but I think an
 
 15 
 
 occasional notice of some of the old Cape families with 
 which I am connected will not be uninteresting to the 
 colonial genealogist. 
 
 It is reported that the name of my maternal ancestor, 
 De Wit, was originally White, and his Christian name 
 John, and that he arrived in this colony about the year 
 1700. Amongst the relics in my possession is a copper- 
 plate of his coat of arms, found in his estate by my 
 uncle, Mr. Johannes Henricus de Wit, an officer in the 
 Dutch navy ; the label at the foot of the arms bears the 
 name of " John White.'' I have also a seal (he left a 
 similar one to each of his children), and porcelain plate 
 (one of a service), bearing the same arms, namely, argent a 
 lion's head, or, on a chevron between three wolves' heads, 
 erased sable ; crest — a wolf's head, erased sable. These 
 arms are still borne by the English family of Stanton 
 White, of Norfolk. A letter was also found in John 
 White, alias De Wit's estate, dated New York, 23rd 
 February, 1755, in answer to one he wrote on the 18th 
 of May, 1754, bearing the signature of Peter and Jane 
 White, but the address runs thus : 
 " A Mynheer D'Heer Jan de Wit 
 
 " Oud Burgerraad tot Cabo de Goede Hoop" 
 and it commences — 
 " Mr. John White and Espouse. 
 
 " Dear respected Uncle and Aunt." 
 
 This is in my possession, written in English, and proves 
 that the present Cape family of De Wit is, in fact, of 
 English origin. Mr. White, or De Wit, married a 
 widow lady, named Adriaansen, and left a considerable 
 landed estate to my maternal gi'andfather, who was born
 
 IG 
 
 23rd August, 1716, and named Petrus Johannes 
 De Wit ; and who possessed, besides several houses in 
 Cape Town, a grant of the farm Stellenberg, in 1772, 
 at Wynberg, a place at Blaauwberg called " Keert de 
 Koe," in 1771, and another in Swellendam (now 
 Riversdale), and left a great quantity of silver plate. I 
 witnessed the division of some amongst his children, of 
 which my mother got her share. 
 
 Mr. White, or De Wit, was appointed, in 1744, a 
 commissioner of the court of matrimonial and petty civil 
 cases. In 1761, he produced the first sample (two 
 hundred pounds weight) of Cape aloes, extracted on his 
 farm at Swellendam ; this was purchased by the East 
 India Company, to send to Holland. The medical 
 practitioners declared it to equal the aloe socotrina, if 
 not superior to it. In 1762, again, two or three 
 hundred pounds were exported ; and, in 1764, one 
 thousand pounds, at the rate of thirty stivers per pound, 
 were purchased from him. In 1761, he was one of the 
 orphan-masters. 
 
 Family tradition states that our ancestor was a 
 member of a respectable English family, who had been 
 in possession of extensive landed property ; not unlikely, 
 he was either a younger son, proceeding abroad in 
 search of a fortune, or was one of those compelled to 
 leave home, under the disturbed state of the country, 
 about the date of the English revolution. I refer my 
 readers for a curious tradition to the Appendix. 
 
 I have been informed that, previous to the capitulation 
 of the Colony in 1795, my grandfather's house was 
 frequented by the principal English officers and families 
 going and coming from India. Among them, were
 
 17 
 
 Lord Macartney and his suite, then proceeding on tlie 
 well-known embassy to China. In fact, his home 
 appears to have been the resort of all the English in 
 Cape Town ; and I was also informed that his funeral 
 was attended by an English admiral and staff. 
 
 I also used to meet the British commanders residing: 
 at the house of my grandmother, immediately after the 
 capitulation. 
 
 I believe that when he had determined on making 
 the Cape, then a Dutch settlement, his home, he trans- 
 lated his patronymic to De Wit, a well-known Dutch 
 name, coiTesponding with White, as in like manner did 
 some of the French refugees, on their settlement here, 
 translate their names, or assimilate them to the Dutch 
 pronunciation, so as to be better identified with their 
 adopted country. 
 
 My grandfather was one of the commissioners 
 appointed by Government to sell an English vessel, the 
 Desire, in 1777, and the Colebrooke, lost in August, 1778. 
 
 I regret that the loss of family papers deprives me of 
 the opportunity of collecting more information regarding 
 this ancestor ; perhaps, the coat of arms may lead to 
 further discovery, and I therefore recommend my chil- 
 dren to preserve it carefully. 
 
 Having now given a brief account of my progenitors, 
 I will commence my own memoir, and step back to the 
 days of childhood and boyhood.
 
 18 
 
 SECTION II. 
 
 OCCUBEENCES PRIOR TO 17nj. 
 
 When I was about three months old, my parents moved 
 from Cape Town to Stellenbosch (in 1786) ; and when 
 at the age of seven years, I was sent to a Dutch school 
 under the master George Knoop, the parish clerk, com- 
 monly called the Dominie, and remained under his tuition 
 until my tenth year, receiving instruction in reading, 
 writing, arithmetic, the Heidelberg Catechism and 
 " Hellenbroek," a book containing questions and answers 
 upon the whole religious system as taught in our church, 
 and used when candidates were catechised and subse- 
 quently examined for admission as members. 
 
 I will attempt to describe a parish school of that 
 time. The master was a gray-headed man, of florid 
 complexion, and lively eye, precise to a nicety, remark- 
 ably clean in appearance and habit, wearing spectacles, 
 and generally a fine linen cap and chintz gown. He 
 sat at his elevated little table, with a library at the back, 
 and the various scholastic implements, such as rulers, 
 pens, &c., spread before him, while the instruments of 
 discipline then in use hung on the wall by his side. In 
 front, stood the large writing-table and benches, 
 generally occupied by about forty or fifty of the rising 
 generation, of all colours, some paying, others admitted 
 gratis, — the latter chiefly from the poor maintained by 
 the church funds. The school-fees ranged from four 
 pence half-penny to one shilling and sixpence a 
 month ; and a roomy house near the church and 
 garden, and suitable outhouses, were allowed by the 
 parish, in addition to the masters small salary.
 
 19 
 
 Silence was the watchword, and eyes constantly fixed 
 on the books was the rule. The school was opened and 
 closed with prayer. The Bible was first read, then 
 spelling, reading, arithmetic, and wi'iting classes were put 
 in action, the seniors hearing the lessons of the juniors, the 
 master taking the higher classes, Wednesday and 
 Saturday were especially destined for religious instruction 
 in the catechism and the Hellenbroek. Attendance was 
 regular, from eight to eleven in the morning, and from 
 one to four in the afternoon. On Wednesday and 
 Saturday half-holidays were allowed, three days during 
 Easter and Whitsun weeks, and eight during Christ- 
 mas, — and these were the only holidays during the 
 year ; the last included New Year's Day. Thus were 
 the youth of the day plainly instructed in our village, 
 in a manner both suited to their future various secular 
 occupations in life, generally occupations in husbandry, 
 or some mechanical craft, and to qualify them 
 for admission as members of the Dutch Reformed 
 Church, then the predominant and only one in the 
 village ; and this last was considered the highest degree 
 of qualification. The Dominie was generally seen on 
 Fridays, about eleven o'clock, preparing to meet the 
 pastor. He usually dressed in a black coat, cut in the 
 orthodox clerical style, knee breeches, and silver knee 
 and shoe buckles : the shoes high, well blackened, and 
 shining. He wore a wig with two rows of curls, and 
 a small three-cornered cocked hat ; and carried under the 
 left arm a fine rattan walking-stick, silver mounteli^nd 
 walked with a gi-ave and stately face to the parsonage? 
 to receive the minister's directions for the service of the 
 next Sunday, the Psalms intended to be sung by the 
 
 c 2
 
 20 
 
 congregation, — so as to prepare himself to lead the singing 
 as harmoniously as practicable, and to draw out lists of 
 intended marriages, christenings, &c., to be entered in 
 the parish registers. 
 
 That day was also set apart to examine our habits^ 
 hands, shoes, &c. ; and this little school parade caused 
 much anxiety, for the good old master was determined 
 to teach us cleanliness, and to be neat in appearance. I 
 recollect one afternoon, being anxious to excel, I had 
 had recourse to the point of a raw sheeptail, for the purpose 
 of giving a shine to my shoes. The shoes rubbed with 
 the grease shone when I left home, but the streets were 
 dusty ; and unfortunately, before reaching school, my 
 little feet exhibited the sad spectacle of a dark-brown 
 pair of pantoufles covered with dust. The hour did not 
 allow of my returning, for it had struck One, and when 
 called, amongst the rest, to exhibit myself, I made but a 
 sorry show. I can even now fancy I see the master's 
 astonished look ; no excuse could be made, or satisfactory 
 explanation given ; the crime of not having the shoes 
 properly brushed was proved by the unlucky tail sticking 
 out of my jacket pocket. It was extracted, and produced 
 before my schoolfellows as the corpus delecti, and an 
 example. I received, with the little black strap, 
 circularly shaped at one end for the delinquent's palm, 
 four strokes on the hands, and was made to stand at the 
 door, to deter others from copying my mode of cleaning 
 shoes. This punishment made a deep impression on 
 mynnind, for it was the only one I ever received at my 
 master's hands : his eye told the reluctance with which 
 it was administered, for Peter (such was my school- 
 name) was his little favorite.
 
 21 
 
 With the schoolmistress I was also on the best of 
 terms. The little silver dubbeltje (a Dutch coin), which 
 was my Sunday allowance, was always spent in the cakes 
 which she so nicely baked ; and on the master's birthday, 
 when the schoolboys greeted him with wishes and 
 congratulations, and little addresses, written under every 
 exertion to please, I was favoured by being invited to 
 be a guest at his family table. Good man ! how, even 
 now, I love and respect thy memory, for you were the 
 only one from whom I ever received public instruction^ 
 and to whom I stand deeply indebted for the elementary 
 part of my education. The Dominie had a good musical 
 ear, and, leading us in the Psalms, he accompanied his 
 voice with the violin, so that we were taught to modulate 
 the tone of our voices, and were generally considered to 
 be good performers. This good tutor, after serving the 
 church for many years, died, regretted by his disciples, 
 and respected by his minister and congregation : he 
 rests in peace in the churchyard at Stellenbosch. 
 
 Relieved from school labour, I retired generally with 
 my young school-fellows to the playground, now Queen- 
 square, where kite and ball, and the " kennetje " game, 
 amongst others, amused us ; or, in summer, we visited 
 that beautiful, fresh brook, the Eerste River, which runs 
 through the village, to enjoy a cool bath in its clear 
 waters, before we retired to our homes. Sometimes, 
 in winter, we retired to the school, in front of which 
 stood two lofty oaktrees, some sixty or seventy feet high, 
 at this period stripped of their leaves, to listen to the 
 hundreds of canary birds whistling their last song before 
 the day closed, as if cheerfully acknowledging their 
 being spared to exist, and preparing to roost in the
 
 22 
 
 branches. Happy, happy days ! Even now I rejoice in 
 the recollection of the past enjoyment, and the fine open 
 and cheerful countenances of my now departed play- 
 fellows. The days of childhood and boyhood were thus 
 usefully and happily spent in and out of doors. Whilst 
 at home I enjoyed every comfort which a dear mother 
 could devise and my beloved parents afford to their 
 young offspring. 
 
 One event which left also an impression on my mind 
 was the travelling tour of the family to Overberg, 
 beyond Hottentots' Holland Mountains, to Sweetmilk 
 Valley (Zoetemelks Valley), then the residence of old 
 Mr. Marthinus Theunissen, a European, and ancestor of 
 the Theunissen family, of which one representative, a 
 grandson, resides at present at Vergelegen, Hottentots' 
 Holland, formerly an estate in possession of the famous 
 Governor van der Stell, a personage well known in the 
 history of the colony. 
 
 This old gentleman was the superintendent (baas) of 
 the Company's outpost, and had the supervision of the 
 extensive public woods at River Zonder End. He had 
 the kindness to send his wagon and oxen for our family, 
 not only to enjoy the excursion, but also to give my 
 father an opportunity of visiting that part of the parish, 
 for Caledon belonged in those days to the Stellenbosch 
 church. There was no place of worship between that 
 district and Swellendam. 
 
 One particular Sunday (it was a beautiful day) the 
 neighbourhood had been invited to attend divine service. 
 In the morning a considerable number had congregated, 
 and as the house was not sufficiently spacious to hold 
 them all, the sermon was delivered in the open air,
 
 23 
 
 under a large oak-tree ; and I sat before my mother, on 
 a footstool. Even the distance of time has not eifaced 
 the recollection of that day. I ever since bore it in mind. 
 
 Another reminiscence of that excursion was my 
 seeing, one morning, old Mr. Theunissen, and some of 
 his sons and neighbours, setting off with a wagon, 
 taking the pastor with them, to see the number of 
 bontebucks then abounding in that part of the country. 
 The wagon returned loaded with game, — amongst them 
 some of that noble species ; and great was the triumph 
 of my father, who had shot an ostrich. The ball was 
 preserved, as a trophy, for many years in his escritoire; 
 and the gun with which he performed that sporting 
 exploit he left me as a present. It stands now before 
 me whilst writing this record. 
 
 These visits must have been welcome to many 
 members of the church, for, on such occasions, a 
 number of children was baptized. The farmers of that 
 part of the country were generally poor. They could 
 not conveniently reach their church, without travelling 
 with their families for days in an ox-wagon ; and I have 
 often seen more than one child of the same parents 
 brought to be baptized at the parsonage at the same time. 
 
 Much inconvenience (now happily removed) was 
 caused to parents living so remote, not only in getting 
 their children baptized, but also in having them 
 examined and admitted as members of the church. But 
 the greatest of all difficulties, in those days, was to get 
 married. There was but one matrimonial court in the 
 colony, holding session every Saturday in an upper 
 room of a building occupying the site of the late 
 Cape Town prison, and all couples inclined to devote
 
 24 
 
 themselves on Hymen's shrine were obHged to travel, — 
 some from Graaff-Reinet, some from the borders of the 
 colony, to Cape Town. 
 
 The members of that board made a stately appearance 
 when sitting. They were clothed in black, and 
 generally were powdered according to the fashion of the 
 day ; and the happy solicitants for their sanction were 
 ushered in not without ceremony, — to wit, the man who 
 swept the stairs with an ornamented broom, the 
 messenger, bowing and scraping, and were thus con- 
 ducted before this body, consisting of a president and 
 six members, and having satisfactorily answered the 
 questions, namely of age and residence, consent of 
 parents or guardians (of which a certificate had also 
 to be produced), whether or not related in the prohibited 
 degrees of consanguinity or under prior engagement, and, 
 in case of widowers or widows, of having passed the deed 
 of kinderhewys to make provision for the inheritance 
 of children of former marriage, the court rose, particu- 
 larly when the applicants were above the ordinary class, 
 and congratulated the parties on their prospect. Some- 
 times the bride was specially honored by a kiss from the 
 president. The secretary, having ascertained that the 
 banns were duly published, was authorized to issue the 
 certificate permitting the marriage. This ceremony 
 occupied the engaged pair sometimes two months 
 travelling, by ox-wagon, from their homes to town 
 and back again. On their arrival in town they were 
 supplied with suitable dresses, borrowed or hired for 
 the occasion, often not of the neatest fit, and scarcely 
 decent to appear in before the matrimonial board (om 
 voor coinmissaris te gaan). A tale is told that on one of
 
 25 
 
 these long journeys, the parties changed their minds, 
 and amicably exchanged for other partners. 
 
 A notable event of my boyish days, which produced 
 a deep impression, was the arrival of the English fleet 
 under Admiral Elphinstone in False Bay, in 1795. I 
 recollect walking with my father in his garden, and 
 hearing, towards the evening, the firing of guns in the 
 direction of the bay. The next day the signal guns were 
 fired from the several heights where they were planted 
 over the country districts, to call upon the militia (hur- 
 gery) to proceed with all speed to Cape Town, in order 
 to assist the garrison in the defence of the colony. 
 
 In those days, when vessels approached Table Bay 
 the first signals were made from Lion's Head, namely, 
 a gun was fired for each vessel seen, and a flag hoisted. 
 On the approach of an enemy further signals were made 
 in the country districts to summon the burgher forces to 
 Cape Town, by firing guns at the signal-posts, under 
 direction of some near resident, who was appointed sig- 
 nalman, and by hoisting a flag, and kindling a beacon fire, 
 so that the smoke should attract notice. In the castle, a 
 red flag (the " blood flag ") was hoisted to indicate war. 
 
 These signal posts were, to the best of my recollection, 
 stationed at Salt River (near the present Montagu- 
 bridge) ; Vlaggeberg, on the road to Stellenbosch ; 
 Hottentots' Holland, Tygerberg, Klapmuts, Groenberg, 
 Riebeek's Kasteel, Honigberg, Piketberg, and Tulbagh 
 Mountains ; and thus the intelligence of an approach of 
 the enemy was communicated in a few hours. 
 
 The bustle, consternation, and anxiety, on the ar-rival 
 of Admiral Elphinstone, was naturally great. The five 
 companies of cavalry, under the green, blue, red, white,
 
 26 
 
 and yellow standards, assembled in the village, or rode 
 direct to town. The force thus consisted : Under 
 Captain Laubscher, 105 men; Captain Meyburg, 156, 
 Captain van der Byl, 144 ; Captain Hoffman, 124 ; 
 Captain Cloete, 129 : total, 658 men. 
 
 The lamentations of wives, mothers, and families were 
 heard almost from every habitation. The pastor did all 
 he could to pacify them, recommending submission to 
 the duties which the government required. The houses 
 in the village were soon crowded with families who had 
 removed from Cape Town, dreading the calamities of 
 war ; and the parsonage received two or three families 
 of relatives under its hospitable roof. 
 
 These bodies of cavalry used to exercise annually in 
 the village, on the " Braak," now Queen's-square. In 
 the month of October, eight days were kept, devoted 
 to drilling during the day, and cheerful meeting of 
 parties in the evening. Every house was thrown open, 
 and the inhabitants received exclusive privilege to sell 
 cakes and refreshments during this period, which was 
 known under the name of "c/e Kermis." 
 
 Several families from Cape Town and the environs 
 spent the kermis at Stellenbosch. I faintly recollect 
 and understood since, that the last of these reviews, in 
 1794, was attended by the acting governor, Mr. Com- 
 missary Abraham Josias Sluysken and some members 
 of the Court of Policy. The select visitors, the landdrost 
 and notables of the village were assembled on the day, 
 24th October (optrek dag), in an alcove of oak trees, 
 called the Tent, of which the remnant is still to be seen, 
 facing the square by the side of a brook leading to the 
 village watermill. The commissary sat in state in an
 
 27 
 
 arm chair, whilst the corps defiled by, the officers 
 passing the tent saluting. Music was introduced, and 
 many a pipe of lekker kanaster smoked during this 
 animating scene, and a feu de joie closed the parade. 
 Refreshments in the tent were abundant, and I recollect 
 being admitted with my parents, and having been 
 liberally supplied with cakes, &c., to my little heart's 
 content. I will attempt to describe an officer in 
 uniform. He wore a fine blue coat, the flaps turned 
 up, the breast decorated with silver embroidery, an 
 orange sash, white waistcoat and breeches, high boots, 
 covering the knees, silver spurs, a cocked hat with 
 panage coloured according to the standard of the com- 
 pany, and sword (pallas). He was well mounted, and 
 seated in a high saddle, — the latter sometimes lined with 
 red cloth, embroidered with silver, as were the holsters 
 and saddle cloth. The horses were extremely well fed, 
 and had long tails. Many a time was my attention 
 riveted on the splendours of my worthy friend and 
 relative in later days, Mr. Jacobus Christiaan Faure 
 (father of the Reverend Messrs. Faure of Cape Town 
 and Wynberg), as he passed our house in the rear of 
 his company, as adjutant to the corps. 
 
 We were also visited by a burgher corps from 
 Swellendam, on their route to Cape Town, about forty- 
 two in number, under Commandant Petrus Jacobus 
 Delport, and an Italian, one Pisani, dressed in farmers 
 costume, armed with long guns, large curved powder- 
 horns, with hats resembling the present wide-awakes, 
 broad-brimmed, and mounted with the national cockade 
 (red, white, and blue), then the emblem of the revolu- 
 tionary party in Holland.
 
 28 
 
 The martial spirit even infected the boys. Those of 
 Cape Town and Stellenbosch amounted to about fifty 
 or sixty, and were enrolled under Commandant Michiel 
 Smuts (since an advocate), and Mr. Johannes Smuts, 
 still residing in the Gardens, Cape Town, as lieutenant. 
 We were formed in two companies of infantry, bearing 
 blue and white colours, provided with a drum and 
 little band. We exercised with bamboo guns in the 
 square, and marched through the village, to the amuse- 
 ment of those who were left at home, and not required 
 to frequent the seat of war. I was ensign, and bore a 
 white standard. One day, I recollect, we were invited 
 by the landdrost to call at the drostdy. He was a Mr. 
 H. L. Bletterman, a kind-hearted gentleman, and, as well 
 as his lady, the essence of politeness and civility. Cakes 
 and tea were served in abundance, and, as ensign, I bore 
 an ample share of the little feast. 
 
 Three months passed in the state of suspense : from 
 time to time firing was heard. At last the capitulation 
 was signed, and Sir James Craig as commander-in-chief, 
 and Sir Alured Clarke, one of the generals, marched 
 into Cape Town and took possession of the citadel. 
 
 The English fleet arrived at the Cape of Good Hope 
 on the 10th of June, and the Cape surrendered by 
 capitulation on the 16th September, 1795. 
 
 The fleet was under command of Sir George Keith 
 Elphinstone, and the army under Major-General Sir 
 James Craig, and consisted of — the Monarch, 74 guns, 
 commanded by Admiral Elphinstone ; America, 64 guns. 
 Commodore Blunkett ; Ruby, 64 guns. Captain Stan- 
 hope ; Stately, 64 guns. Captain Douglas ; Arrogant, 
 74 guns, Captain Lucas ; Victorious, 74 guns, Captain
 
 29 
 
 Clark. Frigates : Sphinx, 24 guns, Captain Bresd ; 
 Echo, 18 guns, Captain Hardy ; Rattlesnake, 16 guns, 
 Captain Spranger. 
 
 The British Commanders forwarded to Commissary 
 Mr. Abraham Josias Sluysken, in charge of the Gov- 
 ernment, a letter dated 7th February, 1795, signed by 
 Willem, Prince of Orange, directing him to admit the 
 British troops into the Castle and elsewhere in the colony ; 
 and in Simon's Bay, or any other place of anchorage, to 
 deliver up the vessels of war ; and to consider the 
 British force as the troops and ships of a power in 
 amity and alliance with their High Mightinesses, intended 
 to prevent the colony from being invaded by the 
 French. 
 
 The Commissary and Council (Court of Policy), 
 however, rejected the propo'sal to permit the troops to 
 land ; but allowed provisions, feeling inclined to 
 avail themselves of the assistance offered in case of 
 attack of an enemy, which they, however, declared 
 themselves to be in a position to resist. 
 
 Meanwhile, every preparation for defence was made. 
 Further proposals to take the colony under British 
 protection were again declined, and all intercourse with 
 the invading force was stopped, and orders were issued 
 to the Resident of Simon's Town to destroy provisions. 
 In return, ships were laid under embargo by the 
 English ; letters seized and opened ; Table and Simon's 
 Bays were blockaded, and troops landed in Simon's 
 Town, and Muizenberg were taken — the Dutch forces 
 retiring to Steenberg and Wynberg. 
 
 Pending these proceedings, General Sir Alured 
 Clarke arrived with a fleet of fourteen ships and three
 
 30 
 
 thousand troops, and took the command. Negotiations 
 were re-opened ; but the Commissary and Court 
 remained determined to defend the colony. 
 
 On the 14th of September, the British army marched 
 towards Steenbergand Wynberg, calculated to be between 
 four and five thousand strong. They were opposed by 
 sixteen hundred and sixteen men, divided between different 
 posts, partly in the country, partly in Cape Town, or in the 
 batteries. The English advanced as far as the Drie- 
 koppen (Rondebosch), now Mowbray, when Mr. Com- 
 missary Sluysken, seeing the impossibility of defending 
 Cape Town, and anxious to spare it from assault and 
 plunder, obtained an armistice of twenty-four hours, 
 and on the 16th, the articles of capitulation were 
 mutually signed. In the afternoon. Sir James Craig 
 marched into town with twelve hundred men infantry 
 and two hundred artillery, — and the Dutch garrison, 
 three hundred infantry and two hundred artillery, 
 surrendered. A number of the Dutch troops had pre- 
 viously become insubordinate, and had left or been 
 discharged . 
 
 On the 17th September, arrangements having been 
 made for the reception of the British troops, General 
 Clarke marched at the head of two thousand men 
 infantry and a train of artillery into the town, — fourteen 
 hundred sailors, who joined the attack of the 14th, 
 having been sent back to Simon's Bay. The Admiral 
 anchored on the 18th in Table Bay, and proceeded to 
 take up his quarters in the Castle. 
 
 And on the 12th November, Mr. Commissary Sluys- 
 ken left the colony for Europe with two hundred officers 
 and men as prisoners of war.
 
 31 
 
 The original force of the Dutch on the 1st of September, 
 1 795, consisted as follows : Artillery, under Major Kuchler, 
 480. Infantry, under Colonel Gordon, 600. Burgher 
 infantry and free blacks in service, 350. Burgher 
 cavalry — of Cape district. Captain de Waal, 127 ; 
 Captain Gous, 117; of Stellenbosch, Captain Laub- 
 scher, 105 ; Captain Meyburg, 156 ; Captain Van der 
 Byl, 144 ; Captain Hoffman, 124; Captain Cloete, 129: 
 of Swellendam, Captain Botha, 96 ; Captain Muller, 
 80 ; Captain de Jager, 62. Hottentot corps, under the 
 name of Pandouras, Captain J. G. Cloete, 210. Civil 
 servants, a corps under the name of Pennisten, 
 commanded by Baron van Oudtshoorn, 100. Total, 
 2,830. On the 14th September, this number had 
 dwindled to 1,616, of which about 600 were retained 
 for defence of the town. 
 
 The position of Mr. Sluysken was one of difficulty, 
 for whilst these operations were carried on, the interior 
 of the colony was in a disturbed state. 
 
 In the commencement of the year 1795, the Land- 
 drost of Graaff-Reinet, Mr. Maynier, had been compelled 
 by the inhabitants to leave, and some of the heemraden 
 and militia officers were threatened with dismissal. 
 Commissioners 0. G. de Wet, Captain von Hugel, and 
 Mr. (afterwards Sir John) Truter, secretary to the Court 
 of Justice, were sent to restore peace, but without 
 success, and were obliged to leave. The Landdrost, 
 Mr. A. Faure, of Swellendam, Captain de Jager, of the 
 burgher cavalry, and the messenger were dismissed by 
 the people, and a burgher, Hermanns Steyn, appointed 
 as landdrost. The chief movers and directors of these 
 insubordinate proceedings were a burgher named Petrus
 
 32 
 
 Jacobus Delport, wlio assumed the title of National 
 Commandant, and the beforenamed Itahan, Louis 
 Almora Pisani, a deserter, who had been banished 
 under sentence of the court of justice, and since 
 wandering about the country had disseminated disturb- 
 ance and opposition to Government. His sentence had 
 been remitted, and he had been admitted a burgher three 
 years previous. Such was the state of the pubhc mind 
 when the Eno-hsh fleet arrived. 
 
 The Government, occupied with the cares of 
 self-defence, had no power to check these district 
 disturbances. Conciliatory letters and other palliative 
 measures and warnings were adopted to preserve peace. 
 At Swellendam, the General met with a little success, 
 for seventy men proceeded to town in defence of 
 the colony under Captain Dirk van Rheenen ; but the 
 greater number, though earnestly solicited, remained 
 at home. A " National Convention " was held at 
 Swellendam, and certain articles were proposed to 
 Government ; the address was signed, " Your faithful 
 burghers to death, and by order of all the national 
 burghers, — P. J. Delport and L. A. Pesany," which, if 
 acceded to, they declared their readiness to spill their 
 last drop of blood in defence of the country, and come 
 to Cape Town. 
 
 However, some of these articles were wholly inadmis- 
 sible, and the whole proposition was consequently rejected. 
 Mr. Meyer, a member of the burgher senate, and two 
 captains of the burghers, and Messrs. Meyburg and 
 Horack, were sent to dissuade them for the present from 
 pressing their proposals and to check discontent in 
 Cape and Stellenbosch districts.
 
 33 
 
 The national commandant arrived meanwhile with 
 some of the Swellendam burghers, and a revolution was 
 apprehended ; but the commissary pacified them to a 
 certain extent. Pisani and two of his accomplices, also 
 discharged soldiers, were apprehended at Tygerberg, on 
 the 14th of August, and confined in the castle, after 
 they had created great alarm and frightened the families 
 of the burghers engaged in the camp. 
 
 On the 1st of September, the advanced guards of the 
 British were attacked by some of the mounted burghers 
 and Hottentots, five soldiers were taken prisoners of 
 war, and two posts occupied ; but the sharp fire of the 
 English artillery caused a retreat. 
 
 Although the public spirit was kept alive (according 
 to Mr. Sluysken's narrative) by daily rencounters between 
 the troops, and several were wounded and some killed, 
 yet insubordination gained ground by the conduct of 
 the national commandant, Delport, and his followers. 
 Several seditious writings and letters were distributed 
 against the commandino- officers, the members of Govern- 
 ment, and well-disposed burghers, and a rebellion 
 threatened which might favor the English more than 
 their arms. It affected the Hottentot corps (170 strong) 
 who, after the attack, left the camp with their arms, 
 though opposed by the officers, and marched to Cape 
 Town, stating their gi'ievances, namely, that notwith- 
 standing their readiness to fight and risk their lives for 
 the small pay of two rixdollars (three shillings) 
 per month, their wives and children were ill- 
 treated ; that they expected the same treatment after the 
 war ; and that they had a cause of complaint generally 
 against the burgher officers.
 
 34 
 
 Mr. Commissary Sluysken, however, received them in 
 the castle, reprimanded them gently for their culpable 
 conduct, and promised that their complaints should be 
 investigated and redress given ; w^hereupon they 
 returned the next day under escort of some burgher 
 officers to the camp ; and orders w^ere issued for better 
 pay and to allow them daily a " soopje" (dram of brandy) 
 and some wine, and to inflict no punishment on account 
 of the step taken. They were also better clothed and 
 declared entitled to share in captures. 
 
 Under all these difficulties one of the lieutenant- 
 colonels was accused of neglect in assisting to attack 
 the English and placed under arrest in the castle. The 
 country was altogether in a disturbed state and beyond 
 the control of government. Those of Graaff-Reinet 
 complained of the parties in authority ; that taxes were 
 levied notwithstanding they were obliged to bear the 
 expense of protecting themselves ; said they were grieved 
 by being checked in trade by sea ; and considered 
 themselves defrauded by the paper currency. They 
 further complained that the burghers were employed as 
 soldiers, declaring that though not inclined to create 
 disturbances the burden was too oppressive to be borne. 
 They moreover expressed a wish to be relieved from 
 the government of the East India Company, and in 
 the last article of their address observed : " That the 
 lesson of Titus Quintius should be observed, through 
 whose proclamation of liberty so a large body of the people 
 had addressed him with such acclamation, that the 
 ravens fell out of the air ; and that such certainly 
 would again happen," — in the event, I suppose, of their 
 proposals being adopted.
 
 35 
 
 The disagreement between government and the people 
 was therefore so gTeat that, had the Cape not been 
 captured, the probabihty was that peace and tranquilhty 
 would have been seriously disturbed, internal commotions 
 would have been created, which the want of power on 
 the part of government would have left unchecked, 
 and the country at large would have been exposed to 
 general disorder and disorganization. 
 
 The Board of Policy at this period consisted of 
 A. J. Sluysken, Commissary ; Messrs. J. J. Rhenius, J. J. 
 le Sueur, 0. G. de Wet, C. Brand, W. S. van Ryneveld, 
 and E. Bergh, according to Mr. Sluysken's statement to 
 the Home Government. 
 
 Full particulars of the articles under which the colony 
 surrendered will be found in the records of the colony. 
 A re-publication would extend my memoir beyond the 
 plan prescribed ; but I will mention an act of magnanimity 
 on the part of the British commanders towards a 
 burgher officer of the Swellendam corps, a Mr. du 
 Plessis, who had distinguished himself by resisting the 
 troops at Muizenberg with a small party of burghers, and 
 had attracted the General's notice by his courage. This 
 man received (as I was told) a present of a handsome 
 gun and fittings as a mark of the Governor's regard ; 
 and he was considered so trustworthy that the British 
 commanders appointed him to communicate to the in- 
 habitants of Swellendam " that the English government 
 would preserve the peace and prosperity of the inhabi- 
 tants ; that all monopoly should cease, and inland trade 
 be free ; invited them to send their cattle to Cape 
 Town ; that no new taxes should be imposed, and the 
 oppressive ones abandoned ; that paper currency should 
 
 D 2
 
 36 
 
 retain its value, and the Englisli would pay in specie ; 
 and that in case of misunderstanding, explanations 
 should be given to any respectable parties who should 
 come to town." 
 
 After the respective Dutch corps were disbanded a 
 fatal occurrence followed. The commander of the 
 Dutch troops. Colonel Gordon, the African traveller 
 and the discoverer of the Orange River, who had first 
 brought to notice the giraffe or camelopardalis, and who 
 liad introduced into the colony the merino sheep which 
 afterwards supplied New South AVales, was found a few 
 days after the capitulation in his garden below Table 
 Mountain (now belonging to the Rev, Dr. Heyns), 
 deprived of life ; he was supposed to have committed 
 suicide, broken-hearted at the loss of his command, and of 
 being suspected of treason. 
 
 On learning that the British commanders resided at 
 the house of my gTandmother Mrs. de Wet, and on 
 hearing that the English soldiers wore red jackets and 
 were described as " moving in bodies like red ants," I 
 felt the greatest curiosity and anxiety to visit Cape 
 Town. At last I prevailed on the good parents to give 
 me leave ; and papa s shooting pony Frolic, and his body 
 servant " Hendrik " mounted on another pony. Prince, 
 were put in service; we started early in the mornina;, 
 crossing the then sandy plains (Cape Flats), and took 
 nearly a whole day getting to Cape Town. The next 
 morning I breakfasted with the English commanders. 
 They seemed rather amused with the young country 
 traveller, whose object was explained, and supphed me 
 plentifully with the good things of the table. Sir 
 James was a short, rather stout man, with a sharp.
 
 37 
 
 dark, determined eye ; Sir Alured appeared to me more 
 mild and pleasing. Having satisfied myself with the 
 sight of the English soldiers, their marching and drilling, 
 their, to me, strano-e dress, — for some wore lono- black 
 gaiters — others, little cocked hats, I returned to Stel- 
 lenbosch, telling the wonderful tales of what I had seen 
 and experienced to the admiration and surprise of my 
 httle circle of friends and sisters, and particularly to the 
 amazement of my " ayah," or nurse, the kind, good- 
 hearted Leonora, a native of Bengal. 
 
 The time now drew near that I was to leave school, 
 soon after which my Father undertook my education. 
 The Latin grammar, the vocabulary of Cellarius, and, 
 ultimately, Cornelius Nepos were introduced, and my 
 time was well occupied by morning and evening lessons, 
 whilst, at the same time, I' assisted in looking after 
 gardening, building, Avine-making and whatever else 
 was required in the husbandry of the family, and which 
 in after-life gave me a taste for these useful occupations. 
 Thus glided my days of youth. We were from time 
 to time visited by English families, and the pastor and his 
 family became more and more known amongst strangers. 
 
 A circumstance occurred at the time which gave me 
 unexpectedly an opportunity of learning the elements 
 of the Eno-lish lanoTiao;e. Admiral Sir Huo;h Christian, 
 who commanded the fleet, I think, in 1798, had his 
 eldest son (afterwards Commodore at this station) on 
 board, and a nephew, Mr. Rush worth. The old gentle- 
 man was anxious that he should reside in our famil}-. 
 This was arranged, and they were accompanied by 
 his chaplain. Doctor Dolling, as tutor, Charles, a 
 brother of Sir William Clarke, who commanded the
 
 38 
 
 84th Regiment, and Osborne a son of Brigadier 
 General Fraser, lads about my age and who soon 
 became my companions. The kind Dr. Dolhng ad- 
 mitted me as one of his pupils and taught me the 
 rudiments of the English language : under his gentle 
 tuition the task was easy and pleasant. 
 
 The Doctor's dress was generally a black coat and 
 waistcoat with yellow buckskin breeches, yellow top- 
 boots, with a broad brimmed hat shaped to a point 
 behind ; he wore spectacles on an aquiline nose and had 
 lively eyes. I enjoyed the advantage of studying English 
 under him for some months. I used to meet my com- 
 panions frequently afterwards in town, and now I am 
 the survivor : Osborne and Charles joined the army in 
 India and died in battle ; my friend. Commodore 
 Christian, died some years since in England, — his eldest 
 daughter was married to one of our Judges, the late 
 Mr. Justice Menzies. I lost sight of Rushworth ; he 
 probably is no more. 
 
 During the above period our house, " La Gratitude" 
 was built, and we removed from the parsonage. Many 
 are the bricks in that building that were made under my 
 eye, and many were the hours of my superintending the 
 works, whilst my Latin lessons were, nevertheless, expected 
 to be duly finished. By rising at an early hour in the 
 morning and retiring late I managed to accomplish my 
 task so as to give satisfaction, and thus, preparing for 
 the study in Europe of a profession, my days passed on 
 till the year 1 800. In that year the Secretary of Stellen- 
 bosch, Mr. Johannes Wege, who was attached to the 
 board of landdrost and heemraden and the only 
 notary in that district, had the kindness to take me
 
 39 
 
 into his office as a temporary clerk. This situation gave 
 me information, which in my subsequent career was of 
 the gTeatest service. I obtained some knowledge of the 
 judicial and fiscal proceedings of the district, had 
 opportunities to copy notarial acts and get introduced 
 into practice, and to become acquainted with the corres- 
 pondence of the magistracy, the jurisdiction of which 
 extended at that time over Stellenbosch, Caledon, Paarl, 
 Tulbagh, Worcester, Piketberg, Clanwilliam, Namaqua- 
 land, and part of the Cape Divisions. While thus 
 prosecuting my studies in Mr. Wege's office, I still had 
 the advantage of my father's instruction at home and his 
 encouragement to improve the mind by reading, &c. 
 
 Amongst the works he recommended was the history 
 of Vasco de Gama's discovery of the Cape, and this 
 little work (written in black better) gave me a taste for 
 travelling; and it was in 1801 that I had an ample 
 opportunity of gratifying my anxious desire to see the 
 interior of my native country. 
 
 In January, 1801, I received my first appointment as 
 junior clerk in the office of the Secretary of Stellenbosch 
 and Landdrost and Heemraden which gave me a salary 
 of five rixdollars or seven shillings and sixpence per 
 month. The payment for the first six months I received 
 in July following, the whole in copper penny pieces. I 
 counted them over and over again, assisted by my sisters; 
 my good old nurse stood by and admired the riches of 
 her pet, and never, I believe, was Croesus more rich, 
 never more raised in imagination and in thought to 
 worldly happiness : in fact, never in after life did 
 money have such an effect as this first fruit of my 
 entrance upon and labour in public life.
 
 40 
 
 It was known about the latter end of September of 
 that year, that Government intended to send an expe- 
 dition to the countries beyond the hmits of the colony, 
 and that Mr. Petrus Johannes Truter, a member of the 
 court of justice, was to be the chief commissioner. He 
 was the same gentleman who kindly received my father 
 when he arrived in this colony, and who offered free 
 access to his house — my mother was his niece. 
 
 I immediately prevailed on my parent to apply for 
 me to accompany the gentlemen commissioners. Mr. 
 Truter sent a favorable reply ; all haste was made to get 
 my outfit ready, and in two days I was seated on a 
 farmer s ox-wagon and left my family under the tenderest 
 wishes for my safety and success. All that my dear 
 mother could gather and my little Geneva box could hold 
 was packed for me; even a fine honey cake, so capitally 
 baked at Stellenbosch, and enjoyed at Letako, was added. 
 The day after my arrival the expedition started from 
 Cape Town ; this was on the 1st day of October, 1801. 
 
 As the following sections will relate to that expedition, 
 and as the present has been sufficiently extended, I now 
 close the narrative of the days of my childhood and boy- 
 hood, with feelings'of gratitude to Him who preserved me 
 when young and spared me in age and advanced years, 
 — to my parents and friends, whose constant care and 
 attention laid the groundwork of a happy and contented 
 mind, and the disposition to exert myself in those duties 
 which constitute the character of a useful member of 
 society. This I recommend my young descendants 
 honestly to strive at ; it is the only course to gain true 
 reward, means of subsistence and to earn the honour and 
 love of our fellow-men.
 
 41 
 
 SECTION III. 
 
 The period had now arrived of departure from the 
 parental roof; I was to commence the world under the 
 eye of strangers, and to lay the groundwork for my 
 future destiny. Happily I met, in the commissioners 
 and secretary, friends who took an interest in me. 
 Under the eye of Mr. Truter I kept the journal of our 
 proceedings and accounts ; under that of Dr. Somer- 
 ville, I enjoyed instruction in languages and scientific 
 subjects ; and as a companion to the secretary, I had an 
 opportunity of closely examining most of the animals 
 and natives who formed the subjects of that splendid 
 collection of drawings which was published in England 
 in coloured plates and folio. 
 
 Thus favoured, I commenced my first travels, and on 
 the 1st of October, 1801, as above mentioned, the 
 expedition started from Cape Town. It consisted of 
 six ox-wagons. One fitted out for the commissioners, 
 four loaded with merchandise, suited to the tastes of the 
 barbarous tribes we expected to meet, such as copper, 
 beads, knives, iron staves, tobacco, handkerchiefs, &c., 
 and a liberal supply of medicines, provisions, &c., and 
 which Mr. Godfried Andries Watermeyer, a gentleman 
 of extensive mercantile knowledge, and to whom the 
 outfit had been confided, selected with equal skill and 
 care. The sixth wagon was loaded with ammunition, 
 tents, &c., under the charge of a superintendent of 
 wagons. The entire cost of the expedition was about 
 £1,500 sterUng. 
 
 The Government, then administered by Major-General 
 Francis Dundas, had derived from various sources
 
 4-2 
 
 some information of the state of the interior, especially 
 relative to the abundance of cattle beyond the Orange 
 River, belonging to the Beriquas. There was a large 
 garrison and naval station in the colony to be provided 
 for, and the Government proclamations of the day show 
 that a scarcity in articles of consumption, especially 
 grain, existed. (I refer my readers to one of these 
 proclamations, dated 26th February, 1801, appointing 
 a special commission to inquire into the means of pro- 
 curing a supply of food under the existing scarcity, of 
 which commission, the late Sir John Barrow was sec- 
 retary). 
 
 In this state of affairs it was deemed most desirable 
 that a trade in supplies should be opened with the 
 aborigines and the interior of the colony explored, and 
 as leaders of the expedition entrusted with this impor- 
 tant undertaking, the Government selected Mr. Truter, 
 who had been formerly employed in the Dutch East 
 India Company's Office of Trade (negotie kantoor), and 
 Dr. Somerville, Inspector of Hospitals and a man of 
 scientific acquirements, aided by Mr. Samuel Daniel, 
 an accomplished artist, as secretary ; and hopes were 
 entertained, not merely of opening a useful trade in 
 cattle, but also of making interesting discoveries in the 
 as yet unexplored and unknown inland territory. 
 
 The whole expedition consisted of the following 
 members and suite : 
 
 Dr. William Somerville, 3 
 
 Mr. Samuel Daniel, secretary. 
 
 Mr. Petrus Borchardus Borcherds, assistant secretary. 
 
 Mr. T. C. Schultz, superintendent of wagons. 
 
 Mr. Petrus Johannes Truter, , 
 
 ' ^ commissioners.
 
 43 
 
 7 Dutch farmers. 
 
 24 Bastard and other Hottentots. 
 
 4 slaves — (together 40 individuals). 
 120 draught oxen. 
 
 18 saddle horses. 
 
 20 muskets. 
 And " with the blessing of God " (as Mr. Truter ob- 
 served) "we considered these our numbers and our means 
 of defence to be fully sufficient for our protection and 
 preservation, and, confiding in His goodness, we 
 launched upon the karoo, or desert place, on the 20th 
 October." 
 
 This was the muster at Brakkefontein, three hours 
 north of the colonial limits. 
 
 Before entering, however, the karoo plains, I will 
 attempt to describe the journey from Cape Town to the 
 boundary and give the simple juvenile observations 
 taken from my notes still extant, for the sake of com- 
 parison of our present rate of travelling with that 
 " sixty years since." 
 
 Route to Brakkefontein per ox-wagon : 
 
 Hours. 
 
 1st Oct., from Cape Town to Pampoenekraal (now 
 
 D'Urban) .... 4 
 „ Pampoenekraal to Middelburg, 
 
 (about 2 hours' detention) . 7 
 
 2nd „ ,, Middelburg to punt at Berg River . 6 
 „ Punt to Groenberg, crossing do. . 3^ 
 
 3rd „ „ Groenberg to Roodesand (now Tul- 
 bagh), passing the Klyne Berg 
 River and Tulbagh Kloof. . 5|- 
 
 4th „ „ Roodesand to the place Liefde . 4
 
 44 
 
 Hours. 
 
 4th Oct., from passing Breede River and Roode- 
 
 draay (now Worcester) , . 6 
 
 5th „ „ Roodedraay to de Vos, Hexe River, 
 
 much detained by repeatedly 
 
 crossing the river . . .8^ 
 
 6th ,, to Verkeerde Valley, passed Bokkeveld- 
 
 street . . . . .9 
 
 7th „ „ Field-cornet Jacob's place, Verkeerde 
 
 Valley .... 2 
 
 8th ,, „ Doom River in the Karoo, passed 
 
 Bokkeveld's Poort . . .12 
 
 9th „ „ Ongeluk's River . . .5^ 
 
 „ Trek River . . . .2 
 
 10th ,, „ Tanquas, passing barren country 
 
 and the Gousbloemsfoiitein, 
 
 Bloemsfontein, Windheuvel, and 
 
 Modderfontein . . .8 
 
 11th „ „ Klipfontein, passing Roggeveld's 
 
 Berg and Blaauw Bank . . 8 
 
 12th „ „ Jackhalsfontein . . . .5 
 
 13th „ „ Kuylenburg . . . .6 
 
 14th „ ,, Groote Riet River, passing de Beer's 
 
 Poort . . . . .4 
 
 15th „ „ an unoccupied place of a certain 
 
 van Wyk, north of Riet River . 2 
 16th „ „ Gannakraal, passing Stinkfontein, 
 
 Tigerhoekberg, Selleryfontein . 7^ 
 17th and 18th, detained relays not arriving. 
 19th Oct., to Brakkefontein .... 3
 
 45 
 
 Having now reached the boundary of the colony, 
 before preceding further let me recal some occurrences 
 on the above route. 
 
 At Roodezand, we were obliged to alter our course 
 for the Witzenberg, as that usual pass was in such a bad 
 state that it could not be crossed. This lengthened our 
 route, and we were obliged to proceed by Hexe River. 
 
 The Roodedraay was then a single farm situate be- 
 tween the Breede and Hexe Rivers on an extensive plain ; 
 at present it is built upon and covered by one of the 
 most regularly laid-out towns in the colony, in extent 
 second only to some of the oldest. It consists of four 
 streets in the direction of its length from east to west, 
 and eight in the direction of its breadth, intersecting 
 each other at right angles, , and forming twenty-four 
 squares of eight acres each. The streets are wide 
 (eighty feet), and each one is supplied with a stream of 
 beautiful clear water from the main watercourse, which 
 is led out of the Hexe River, a distance of about five miles. 
 It contains splendid and extensive public buildings 
 for the residence of the civil commissioner, offices, and 
 court-room, with a large garden attached to it, and it is 
 known as the town of Worcester. A beautiful Dutch 
 Reformed church with spire and clock ; a handsome 
 chapel for the coloured people belonging to the Rhenish 
 missionary society, besides several schools and one of 
 the best hotels in the colony, are to be found on the 
 former farm. It is now the seat of the magistracy. 
 Formerly the magistrate (landdrost) resided at Tulbagh, 
 but that place being found to be situated very much out 
 of the way, and being considered incapable of much 
 improvement, the seat of magistracy was changed.
 
 46 
 
 Now again, however, Tulbagh has been formed into a 
 division under a civil commissioner and magistrate 
 resident in the village. 
 
 I mention this to show the progress of the colony 
 since the period I visited that part of it. 
 
 The Hexe River's Kloof was then a very different pass. 
 We were obliged to cross the river several times, as its 
 windings were narrow and frequent. The mountains 
 along the pass were covered with snow almost to their 
 bases. Here I saw for the first time in my life a troop 
 of baboons regaling themselves in a corn-field. 
 
 At the next station, the Verkeerde Valley, we were 
 detained by violent hail-storms and rain, and obliged to 
 take up quarters at a shoemaker's, one Mulder, who had 
 a large family, besides some visitors, butcher's knechts 
 or travelling servants. Poor man, he had but one room 
 about sixteen feet square, and in this we were admitted 
 with the family, consisting of about ten or twelve persons. 
 The thatch was leaky, so that some of us could not 
 escape getting wet. This was the first piece of hardship, 
 such as it was, of our travelling adventures. Yet be it 
 said to the credit of this poor man and his wife that 
 they submitted themselves to much inconvenience to 
 give us the best accommodation in their power. How- 
 ever, the next morning we were compensated with the 
 sight of a large and beautiful lake (Verkeerde Valley), in 
 front of the little house, abounding with waterfowl, and in 
 the afternoon by the kind reception we met at the Field- 
 cornet Jacobs' home. I cannot forget the hospitality 
 shown by the family of Jacobs and his wife, and we 
 felt it the more as we had suffered want of provisions 
 and intense cold and much personal inconvenience.
 
 47 
 
 From Jacobs' we were accompanied by the field-cornet, 
 Schalk Willem Pienaar, and his brother, who most 
 readily gave the assistance we required ; and passing 
 between two steep mountains (Karoo and Bokkevelds 
 Poort), we reached the Karoo and encamped on the 
 banks of the Doom River. There I was particularly 
 struck with the sterility and barrenness of the fields so 
 different from those I had passed, and by the fine 
 mimosa trees, producing a gum similar to the gum 
 arabic of commerce, described by the traveller Vaillant 
 and others. 
 
 Whether owing to the scanty pasture or to some 
 other cause, some of our oxen strayed during the night. 
 The disagreeableness of such an event can be appreciated 
 only by the African traveller to whom the bad news is 
 communicated ; however, thanks to the activity of our 
 field-cornet, we obtained fresh relays and proceeded with- 
 out much detention. 
 
 The landdrost of Stellenbosch, Mr. van der Riet, 
 had taken the precaution to send on two inhabitants, 
 Messrs. Willem Wium and Verster, to arrange our 
 relays and other details required for our further pro- 
 gress ; and on their arrival at our camp at Tanquas River, 
 they reported favourably of our future prospects and 
 their arrangements. We also expected Floris Visser, a 
 man well acquainted with the country, and some others 
 to accompany us, but were disappointed ; notwithstand- 
 ing which Messrs. Wium and Verster accompanied us 
 over that steep hill, the Roggeveld Berg, with its 
 dangerous Blaauw Bank. Their company was par- 
 ticularly welcome to me, for they were residents of 
 Stellenbosch. They brought a letter from my father
 
 48 
 
 which placed mc in a strange dilemma, as it contained 
 an order to purchase a horse and return with them. 
 This was shown to Mr. Truter. This kind gentleman 
 (my uncle) left it to my choice to return or proceed. 
 I hesitated, and struggled between disobedience and the 
 anxiety to pursue the journey, the latter feeling pre- 
 vailed and I wrote to my parents acquainting them 
 with my resolve. The idea of turning back from a 
 mere apprehension of danger when my companions 
 were ready to encounter the risks of the journey, and 
 thus to lose the finest opportunity of seeing a hitherto 
 unexplored country, was so repulsive to my feelings, 
 that in this instance I disobeyed the parental injunc- 
 tion, hoping that on my return a good account of my 
 travels would pacify them and make them forget the 
 anxieties which, under their tender feelings, they would 
 suffer during my absence. 
 
 On the summit, or rather on the plateau, of Rogge- 
 veld Berg, the inhabitants had deserted their farms for 
 the Karoo, to save their cattle and sheep from the effect 
 of cold and snow, — a practice they were in the habit of 
 following annually with their families. 
 
 At Roggeveld Berg, with the ready assistance of the 
 field-cornet, Gerrit Maritz, we were supplied by a Mr. 
 Cornelis Coetzee with another wagon and oxen, and 
 provisions, such as flour, &c., a troop of sheep and 
 lambs followed our train as we proceeded, and five of 
 the farmers who were to accompany us on the journey 
 for our guidance and protection, were here added to 
 our nvunber, viz. : 
 
 Frans Kruo-er. 
 
 o 
 
 Johannes Hendrik Cloete.
 
 49 
 
 Johannes Stephanus Maritz. 
 Caspar Snyder, and 
 Pieter Jacobs. 
 
 On the mountain, we suffered much from cold and 
 rain. 
 
 Encamped on the Riet River, we obtained intelli- 
 gence from a farmer, Jacobus Erasmus, who casually 
 joined us, that the river abounded with fish. Having 
 to wait for relays, we accompanied him to a part of the 
 stream, where we found a large shoal and caught in our 
 seine about one hundred and fifty fish of three diflierent 
 species ; the largest one foot and seven inches long, was 
 in circumference round the belly five and a half inches, 
 and was of a green olive colour on the back and yellow 
 under the belly, resembling in shape our Cape mullet 
 (harder). The second species had a larger head and 
 smaller eyes, was silvery white under the belly and 
 blueish on the back, measuring (the largest) from head 
 to tail one foot and five inches, and round the middle 
 four and a half inches, and the last also much resembled 
 our Cape mullet. 
 
 Having returned to our camp, the haul was placed at 
 the disposal of our good-natured and humorous cook 
 Primrose, who certainly in the shape of roasts and boils 
 produced some very savoury dishes. The only objection 
 to these otherwise delicate fish was the many bones 
 one has to avoid in enjoying them. 
 
 Here we saw the first tracks of a lion, so recent 
 that he appeared to have wandered in our neighbourhood 
 durino; the nioht. 
 
 On leaving the Riet River we passed the Van der 
 Walt's Poort, a passage between two steep hills. Here it 
 
 £
 
 50 
 
 was we were informed the Bushmen were in the habit 
 of retiring with stolen cattle or sheep, and especially 
 to that portion called the Bonteberg, which was too 
 rocky and steep to be ascended with horses. The Riet 
 River — Tafel Berg or Table Mountain — was also seen at 
 a distance : it had a flat triangular form, and looked like 
 the foot of a cone divided and deprived of its top. 
 Travelling further northwards we were joined by two 
 other farmers, David Lombaard and David Kruger, and 
 four Hottentots to be added to our train. Having 
 advanced as far as the Kleyn Riet River we were 
 detained through not receiving expected relays ; but 
 we were again successful in catching nearly the same 
 number of fish as before. Some of the oxen ultimately 
 supplied were found unfit, and this caused a little 
 embarrassment. 
 
 The muster above mentioned was made before we left 
 Brakkefontein on the boundary. 
 
 My next section will contain our travels from the 
 boundary to Letako. But previous to my closing this 
 sketch, I will extract some observations from my 
 manuscript. 
 
 Whilst travelling amongst the colonists to the boun- 
 dary, I met from some of them triie kindness and 
 hospitality : they indeed proved on our arrival at their 
 farms that hospitality was not undeservedly ascribed to 
 them as one of their distinguishing virtues by travellers 
 in South Africa. 
 
 The colonists of European descent settled in the country 
 as far back as the extremity of Bokkeveld, inhabit in 
 many parts a beautiful and productive region, cultivated 
 by some according to their means and the extent of
 
 51 
 
 their knowledge, by others neglected for want of means 
 and inclination to exert themselves, so that there was 
 great room for improvement ; some lived in opulence 
 such as the country could afford, others in great 
 poverty. Happy was the man who owned a farm 
 unencumbered by debt, for unless he suffered great 
 losses in slaves or cattle, or some other cause, he 
 might be considered as settled for life, and required 
 only the advantages which civilized society and town 
 life afford. 
 
 The occupation of the farmers, especially at the Koe- 
 bergen, Swartland (now Malmesbury), Roodesand (now 
 Tulbagh), was chiefly limited to the growth of gi'ain, 
 but some cultivated vines in the lastmentioned village, 
 Roodesand. Beyond the Witzenberg and Hexe River, 
 in the Cold and Warm Bokkeveld, breeding of cattle 
 seemed to be the principal occupation of the farmer, 
 although fruits, including the cherry, are produced in 
 perfection. In the Bokkevelds the grape grows, though 
 not fit to make wine, but much brandy is distilled, 
 which is bought with avidity by the more distant farmers 
 and is also largely used for home consumption, mostly 
 in little drams called sopies. This word, by-the-by, I find 
 used in the earliest days of the colony and at the time 
 when Father van Riebeek used to treat the natives and 
 their chiefs on their visits to the Fort. 
 
 At the end of the Hexe Riviers Kloof resided a Mr. 
 Wouter de Vos, proprietor of a beautiful and productive 
 farm ; he excelled in the breeding of strong and fine 
 horses, and his reception of visitors and travellers was 
 most hospitable. Amongst other fruits on his farm, I 
 particularly admired and enjoyed the oranges. 
 
 E 2
 
 52 
 
 Beyond the lastmentioned pass lays the Karoo, a 
 sterile and dry part of the country, crossed by the beds 
 of several rivers, the principal of which are the Groote 
 River, Doom River, Ohphant's Rivier, Tanquas River. 
 
 At times these rivers overflow, but in summer they 
 shrink into a chain of holes containing muddy brackish 
 water, and some are entirely dry when the rainy seasons 
 cease ; the banks ai'e generally overgrown with line 
 mimosa trees. 
 
 The plants in this part of the country are commonly 
 thorny, and among the heaths is the " Kanna Bush," the 
 ashes of which are very serviceable in soap-boiling, and 
 are collected during the period when the sheepfarmers 
 of the Rogge and Bokkeveklen occupy the Karoo in the 
 winter months, and when a large pot boiling to prepare 
 soap is generally seen in front of the house under the 
 supervision of the wife or daughters. Several species of 
 the Ice-plant are also found in these plains. 
 
 When the winter season approaches the inhabitants of 
 Roo'o;eveld and Bokkeveld leave their farms and descend 
 to the Karoo Flats, with their movables and flocks, to 
 avoid the danger of mortality from the excessive cold 
 caused by the heavy falls of snow ; their houses are then 
 left solitary and closed, and the occupants, when 
 in the Karoo, reside in small houses, or rather huts, 
 consisting generally of but one room with a fire place 
 and a small entrance hall, adjoining their sheep-folds 
 {kraals), which are so situated that those inside the 
 dwelling can easily protect all points by their muskets 
 against rapacious animals or robbers : in former days, 
 the kraals used sometimes to be attacked by Bushmen. 
 Others of these nomads live with their families in large
 
 53 
 
 wagons and under tents, contrived by spreading out the 
 wagon covering, watching their flocks in the pasturages 
 to which they wandered, and were constantly shifting 
 their station as they required fresh suppHes of grass and 
 water. I have often seen flocks protected at night by 
 large fires made by the herds, who were usually armed ; 
 these watchers, if questioned at any hour during night, 
 could state with accuracy the hour. I have been stiTick 
 with their precision, g-uided as they are solely by the 
 starry heavens; the "seven stars" (pleiades), the morn- 
 ing and evening stars in particular, and others of 
 magnitude, were their chief means of observation. The 
 Hottentots were of much service and assistance as 
 herdsmen. 
 
 The mountains we passed were chiefly — the t'Koedoe 
 Mountains, Paardenberg Mountains, Gousbloemskloof 
 Mountains, and Windheuvel Mountains. 
 
 The surface of the karoo is commonly flat, with rocks 
 of a brownish colour ; amongst the latter gi'ew a variety 
 of the aloe-plant. The soil consists of a light fine red 
 sand, penetrating through clothing to the skin, and in 
 some parts of small reddish stones. Quachas, ostriches, 
 antelopes, hares, partridges, and the large korhaan (a 
 species of bustard), the wild peacock or paauw (another 
 bustard) inhabit these plains. Swarms of locusts appear 
 at times and destroy the herbage, to the great privation 
 and injury of the cattle. The tract between Bokke and 
 Roggeveld is certainly the most baiTcn I saw during 
 my journey. 
 
 And now, my gentle reader, you will, I hope, 
 patiently accompany me while about to ascend the 
 Roggevelds Berg to the country beyond.
 
 54 
 
 The ascent of the mountain is uncommonly steep 
 and dangerous for wagons. About the middle is the 
 Blaauwe (or blue) bank, requiring all the skill of an 
 expert driver to turn round the windings, besides several 
 rough places. However, we reached the summit without 
 accident, and I expected to meet again with a fine 
 country, but found myself disappointed. The Karoo 
 plains presented from that height an extensive view of 
 some hours' journey distance, crossed by various roads ; 
 the land appeared hardly different from the Karoo we had 
 left behind, while I could perceive no descent from the 
 mountain top. Being elevated several thousand feet 
 above the level of the sea, I could easily account for that 
 excessive cold which drove the farmers with their 
 families and flocks to the lower plains of the Karoo ; 
 in fact, we were not long on this elevation before we 
 could speak from experience of the severity of the 
 climate. 
 
 Amongst the heaths which appeared to me differing 
 very little from those in the Karoo, I found one named 
 the " harpuis " (rosin) bush, containing a juice of a 
 gluey substance, having the scent of rosin. Of this 
 herb the sheep are particularly fond, and it forms their 
 chief nutriment. 
 
 The inhabitants of this region did not appear to be as 
 civilized in manners as those of the Bokkeveld. They 
 are often content to do without bread, using " biltong " 
 (dried raw meat, generally of game) as a substitute with 
 their meat. Want of education deprived them of 
 opportunity of mental improvement, and some of them 
 could not even write their names. They are, however, 
 generally good-natured and hospitable, but secluded
 
 55 
 
 from intercourse with the more progressive of our 
 colonists, and their backwardness contrasted strongly with 
 the advancement of the age. 
 
 The pride of this people is to possess a good long 
 gun or musket of rather large calibre, carrying the ball 
 with accuracy at fair distance, and it is astonishing how 
 precisely they make and regulate sights to their guns. 
 The next desirable object is a good horse, strong and 
 trained for the chase ; these, and a good housewife and 
 strong healthy children, a covered or tent wagon with 
 a strong span of oxen, to convey family and baggage, a 
 suitable resting-place (legplek) in the Karoo, with 
 plenty of grass in the season, and the kanna bush for 
 soap-boiling, and a productive and sound flock of sheep 
 (in those days, the hairy and long-tailed description), 
 were then the summit of wishes of that plain, honest, 
 and wandering race, the inhabitants of Roggeveld. 
 
 Their sole care seemed to be confined to the support 
 of their numerous families, generally consisting of eight 
 or ten children. A cripple from birth is not often seen, 
 nor are consumptive diseases prevalent. The grown-up 
 youth appeared strong and of florid complexion, but as 
 they advanced in age, more or less inclined to corpu- 
 lency. Medicines are seldom used, — the mother of the 
 family is usually well versed in the art and practice of 
 domestic medicines in cases of indisposition, and a 
 source of comfort and help to the afflicted. 
 
 A religious spirit was natural to many, though some, 
 as elsewhere, displayed indifference. A general rule 
 existed in every family to sing in the morning before 
 daybreak, and in the evening previous to going to 
 bed, some selection from the Psalms, or the Hymn-
 
 56 
 
 book of Willem Sluiters, a Dutch poet much esteemed 
 amongst them. The missionaries to the Bushman 
 tribes sometimes visited them, and conveyed rehgi- 
 ous instruction by assembhng meetings known as 
 " oeffeningen." 
 
 Roggeveld then belonged to the division of Stellen- 
 bosch. The landdrost nominated the field-cornets of 
 the different wards, who reported to him the local 
 occurrences of the day, and every burgher was under 
 his command to turn out, if required, in defence of the 
 country. This service was known under the appellation 
 of ^^ commando gaan' — to go on commando — the term 
 for an armed body of inhabitants dispatched on active 
 service. 
 
 Most of the farmers travelled annually with their 
 families to the market in Cape Town to dispose of their 
 produce, such as soap, butter, &c. ; this was sometimes 
 attended with difhculty and loss of cattle, owing to the 
 bad state of the passes and roads. Most of their sheep 
 were disposed of on their farms to butchers' itinerant 
 servants, who travelled amongst them for that purpose. 
 These persons, generally Germans or other foreigners, 
 and commonly known as slaghters knechts, received, 
 previous to their departure from Cape Town, certain 
 printed instructions, and were obliged to attend at the 
 fiscal's office to swear that they would abide by them. 
 This was deemed necessary to prevent fraud and decep- 
 tion being practised on the ignorant farmers. The 
 knechts had extensive power to purchase cattle and 
 sheep, and they carried with them a number of blank 
 promissory notes ready signed by the butchers, intended 
 to be filled up with the amount of the purchase
 
 57 
 
 price of the cattle or sheep. These notes, thus secured, 
 had such credit, that they circulated as a paper-currency 
 from hand to hand until presented for payment to the 
 issuer. 
 
 The farmer's dress then, as now, was plain. A broad- 
 brimmed hat, well formed to meet the heat of the sun, 
 adorned with a pipe stuck in the band ; a woollen 
 jacket for winter, and occasionally a great coat (schaus- 
 looper) ; a checked or blue shirt, or linen jacket in 
 summer ; leather trowsers (from voering vel) ; a pair of 
 shoes, made of ox-hide by themselves (veldschoenen) ; 
 this was the simple habit worn. 
 
 I made many more notes on this part of the country 
 and its population and productions ; but so much has 
 already been written and published about South Africa 
 that I refrain from saying more. 
 
 Happy countrymen ! Many of you enjoy, in this 
 simple pastoral life, inestimable blessings. Some of you, 
 possessed of numerous flocks, command even wealth, 
 and all lead a patriarchal life, whilst few are in real 
 want and poverty. Averse to the introduction of novel- 
 ties, you follow the example of your ancestors, and are, 
 even to prejudice, attached to the customs of your 
 ancestors. You require only information and guidance, 
 experience and taste for improvement, and removal of 
 some prejudices — the impression of early years. Some of 
 you acquire a too easy habit of life, and are deficient in 
 proper exertion ; yet with rare exceptions you are on 
 the whole an honest and good-natured race, and happy, 
 though deprived of many comforts and blessings which 
 civilization and intercourse with the more enlightened 
 society of man afford.
 
 58 
 
 Considerable changes have, however, been effected 
 since the time I write of. The obstinate adherence to 
 the breed of hairy sheep, with their long fat tails, has 
 gradually been shaken, and many now possess consider- 
 able flocks of merino sheep. The animosity which 
 existed towards the Bushmen on account of their 
 murders and depredations has given way to better 
 feelings towards the colonial races ; a good under- 
 standing seems to have existed since the peace made 
 with the Bushmen by that excellent man, the Field- 
 cornet Gerrit Visser, in 1798. Commandos have, since 
 that date, rarely been necessary, and we may consider 
 that treaty and its provisions, as extended in our Placaat- 
 books, as the foundation of the course of forbearance and 
 humanity now exercised towards that unfortunate race. 
 
 The traveller cannot escape from the privations of 
 the Roggeveld. Its inhabitants are deprived of those 
 clear and beautiful streams which adorn the upper 
 country, many being compelled to live on places with 
 only a small fountain of brackish water, and no trees to 
 give them shade or fruit. Yet so strong is our natural 
 attachment to the place of nativity, that I believe many 
 born and bred in the Roggeveld would not, if they 
 could, change their position, so much are they attached 
 to their flocks and simple mode of living. 
 
 Having passed the Kuylenburgs and Riet Rivers, of 
 which the water is preferable to that of the generality 
 of the fountains in the neighbourhood, I now close 
 this section, opening my next with our adventures from 
 the boundaries.
 
 59 
 
 SECTION IV. 
 
 I PREFACE this section by stating the route from 
 the colonial boundary to Letako, the capital of the 
 Boshuanahs. 
 
 1801. Hours. 
 
 Oct. 20, from Brakkefontein to Commandofontein 
 
 (passing several small lakes) . 6 
 
 21, to Kruytfontein . . . .5 
 „ Sak River . . . . .5^ 
 
 22, „ place of Hendrik Korf, lower part of 
 Brakke River . . . ' ^k 
 
 23, „ pan of Brakke River (the t'Kahaberg 
 ^ was seen in a southerly direction) . 5J 
 
 24, ,, Leeuwenfontein , . . . 6|- 
 
 25, ,, Klipfonteins River, on the south side of 
 the Karee Mountains . . .4 
 
 26, halt. 
 
 27, to Schietfontein (passing the Karee 
 
 Poort) 2J 
 
 „ Elandskuyl (crossing the Karee Moun- 
 tains, in appearance small Table 
 Mountains) . . . .5 
 
 28, „ Krugersfontein . . . . 5J 
 
 29, ,, a small hill, passing the last of the 
 
 Karee Mountain chain . . 8 
 
 30, ,, Biezenfontein at the Buffelsbout . 2 J 
 „ Jonkersfontein . . . .7 
 
 31, „ an elevated spot in sight of the Orange 
 
 River Mountains in front, and the 
 last of the Karee Mountains behind, 
 passing two large lakes (salt) . 7
 
 60 
 
 1801. Hours. 
 
 Nov. 1, to the Groote or Orange River Poort . 2^ 
 „ 2, „ halt on the south bank of Orange 
 
 River 
 „ 3, crossed the Orange River, also known 
 as t'Gariep at Presala's Drift, and 
 halted on the north bank of the 
 river, according to calculation situate 
 29 degrees south latitude and be- 
 tween 23 and 24 degrees east of 
 London. 
 „ 4, halted. 
 
 „ 5, travelled along the bank in a north- 
 easterly direction . . • 4|- 
 „ 6, left the river and proceeded to an open 
 
 spot, name unknown . . .9 
 
 „ 7, to Modderfontein . . . .2 
 
 „ a kloof (t'Karaap) . . .4 
 
 „ 8, „ t'Akaap or Rietfontein (missionary 
 
 station) , . . . • 4|- 
 
 „ 9, 10, 11 halted. 
 
 „ 12, to Gatee t'Kamma, or Witwaterfontein 6 
 „ 13, left this fountain late and arrived in the 
 morning of the 1 4th at Katzezigalee, 
 or Buffalofontein . . .8 
 
 „ 14, to Joekatgoenie, or Dwaalfontein . 5|- 
 
 „ 15, „ Welkomstfontein . . . .4 
 
 „ 16, „ Makatzanie or Eenden (Duck) Fontein 3 
 „ 17, ,, Magago or Yzerberg (iron mountain) 
 
 Fontein . . . . . 3|- 
 
 „ 18, „ a lake Cossi, about 3,000 or 4,000 
 
 yards broad . . . » ^2
 
 61 
 
 1801. . Hours. 
 
 Nov. 19, to an open space on a flat (detained three 
 
 hours) . . . . .8^ 
 
 „ 20, „ Klaboligani, or by the Boshuanahs 
 
 Koeromanie, now Kuruman . 13^ 
 
 (travelled about thirty hours without water.) 
 21 & 22, halted. 
 
 23, to a fount Mapoetie . . .3^ 
 
 24, „ „ Moetgoaring . . • 4j- 
 
 25, „ „ Gatarkomo . . .5 
 
 26, „ „ Letako (the capital) . . 7 
 
 180 
 For detention deducted, 3 
 
 Remain, hours going, 177 
 
 On the 21st of October we saw, at a considerable 
 distance in a south-easterly direction, the Nieuwevelds 
 Tafelberg (table mountain) and Leeuwenkop (lion's 
 head), several flocks of quachas, hartebeests, elands, and 
 gemsbucks, and passed a missionary station at Blyde 
 Vooruitzicht (happy prospect). This had been occupied 
 by Mr. Edwards, a gospel missionary, under the direction 
 of the society for sending missions into Africa and the 
 East Indies. We found a large hut and some smaller 
 ones, and a little garden where we collected a few 
 vegetables. These were really enjoyed, as we had been 
 in want of such refreshment for some time. Footmarks, 
 probably of Bushmen, were found, and some had been 
 seen in the last camp after our departure. We halted 
 at Sack River, at a station formerly occupied by the
 
 62 
 
 missionary Kicherer, belonging to the beforementioned 
 society. The huts were abandoned and in ruins ; 
 only one was fit to be occupied. 
 
 October 22. — It was here that we saw the first two 
 Bushmen, Jephta and Jacob. They appeared miserable 
 wretches, naked and apparently perishing with hunger, 
 as, trembling with fear, they advanced towards the camp. 
 Their language mixed with a rapid klicking of the tongue, 
 was wholly unintelligible, and unfortunately we had no 
 interpreter. However, their signs were well compre- 
 hended : we gave them something to eat and a little 
 tobacco. This cleared their countenances, and had such 
 a reviving effect on their spirits as caused them to dance 
 for joy. We understood they had been disciples of 
 the missionaries above mentioned. 
 
 October 24. — Another Bushman was brought to the 
 camp by one of our herds, named Witbooy, and was 
 kindly treated like the others ; his gestures evinced 
 gratitude, yet we could clearly see indications of appre- 
 hension and fear of being killed, and his rapid flight on 
 leaving us betrayed his uneasiness. 
 
 The first of the large species of animals, a quacha, was this 
 day shot by Mr. David Kruger and Dr. Somerville. Here 
 one of our Hottentots deserted, taking one of our horses. 
 
 The next day, Mr. Daniel, our secretary, made a 
 beautiful drawing of this animal. On measurement, I 
 found it to be in length 5 feet 4 inches. 
 
 circumference 4 
 
 „ 4 , 
 
 neck 
 
 1 
 
 „ 11 , 
 
 head 
 
 1 
 
 „ 10 , 
 
 height 
 
 4 
 
 „ 7 , 
 
 foreleg 
 
 2 
 
 „ 6 ,
 
 63 
 
 I need not give any description of an animal now so 
 well known. Suffice it to say, our Hottentots, after 
 securing the skin, regaled themselves upon the meat, a 
 portion of which was cut into thin thongs and dried. 
 We also found wild onions, which were very accep- 
 table. 
 
 At Krugersfontein is to be seen the grave of a man 
 named Kruger, who had been trampled to death and 
 destroyed by an elephant which he had wounded. His 
 body was found and buried by the Coranahs. 
 
 At Biezenfontein, we perceived, at a distance, a party 
 of eight Bushmen and beckoned them to come to us ; 
 but by their signs we made out that they wished us to 
 approach, which we did, and found them fully armed 
 with bows and arrows and prepared to defend them- 
 selves in case of being attacked. We attempted to 
 remove their fear, and they' exhibited a jackal's tail 
 fastened to a stick, which they held up in the air and 
 waved repeatedly, this being their signal of peace. 
 Having reached our camp, we gave them leather caps 
 mounted with copper plates, copper medals, tobacco, &c., 
 and a sheep, which were immediately divided amongst 
 them; but their astonishment seemed unbounded at the 
 sight of a looking-glass and the light it reflected from 
 the sun. This party left apparently well contented ; three 
 more approached, but only one could be persuaded to 
 come to us. He received for himself and companions 
 some tobacco, and left after being with us but a few 
 minutes. Here we saw the first springbucks. At 
 Jonkersfontein, the track of a rhinoceros was seen about 
 five hundred yards from our camp ; our search for the 
 animal itself was unsuccessful.
 
 64 
 
 At the Groote Rivier's Poort, we saw high hills and 
 mimosas; one species in particular with crooked thorns, 
 named the wagt een heetje (tarry a little), and several 
 heaths quite different from those we had observed 
 before. This poort is the entrance to the banks of the 
 Great or Orange River, known by the natives under 
 the name of f Gariep, and leads to the ford we had to 
 cross, called the Presocas Drift. 
 
 Imagine my pleasing sensation after travelling- 
 through the dreary karoo plains, with its brackish pools 
 and fountains, to meet a river, the largest I had ever seen, 
 ranging in breadth from six hundred to one thousand 
 yards ; the banks adorned with beautiful trees, such as the 
 willow, mimosa, wild apricot, and other evergreens, with 
 the tops of some of the branches hanging over and dipping 
 into the water; the stream winding in some parts 
 between high and steep mountains and rocks, sometimes 
 divided by islands grown with trees twenty-five or thirty 
 feet high, and the bed strewed with stones resembling the 
 Scotch pebble and agates ; the channel abounding witli 
 fish, and frequented by the hippopotamus ; the bordering 
 woods filled with pheasants, guinea-fowl, partridges, and 
 several birds of beautiful plumage, such as the green 
 spreeuw, various sorts of woodpeckers and kingfishers, 
 doves, hawks, owls, and the white crow or Egyptian vul- 
 ture. To this collection were added groups of the black- 
 faced monkey playing their pranks in the branches; 
 several species of the t'Koedoe and other antelopes 
 were also seen approaching the stream, while the spring- 
 haas or jerboa basked and showed its white breast in 
 the moonlight nights. Here also are found the ground 
 squirrel, and the large wild or tiger-cat lurking for its prey.
 
 65 
 
 I confess that never before or since have I been struck 
 with such scenery, and felt such high admiration of the 
 scenes of nature as on this occasion ; and to this moment 
 I feel delight and pleasure at its recollection. 
 
 It was at this locality we found the missionary Edwards 
 and his wife and family, and Jacob Kruger a farmer. 
 This man was known to be a person of great resource 
 and possessed of much valuable information relative to 
 the interior and the natives, and was likely to be of great 
 service to our expedition. Sir John Barrow writes of 
 him : "At an early period of life his brother and himself 
 having exercised their ingenuity in forging the paper- 
 currency of the colony were banished for life to Robben 
 Island, in the mouth of Table Bay, but before they had 
 remained long they contrived, by means of a boat made 
 of dried skins, to escape to the continent and fly to the 
 country of the Boshuanahs, where the elder brother 
 was trodden to death by an elephant (this was at 
 Krugersfontein before mentioned) ; and the present man 
 had been living among the savages on the skirts of the 
 colony, an outlaw and vagabond for nearly twenty 
 years. Informed of his situation, the party had carried 
 with them a conditional pardon from the court of justice 
 at the Cape, to which his long sufferings and willing 
 services on the present occasion amply entitled him." 
 Kruger had attached himself to Mr. Edwards on his 
 route to the Boshuanahs (then known as Berequas), 
 in order to assist in teaching them Christianity. Their 
 party joined us, and this added to our train three more 
 wagons. 
 
 At the ford or drift through which we had to pass 
 the river was divided by an island, round both sides of 
 
 F
 
 66 
 
 which the stream ran rapidly, and was about six hundred 
 yards broad. At this ford I observed the Bushman mode 
 of carrying sheep across the river. 
 
 They lay themselves on a log of wood about six feet 
 in length, with a peg or pin of about a foot in length 
 fixed in the middle, — sometimes two such logs are bound 
 together, — and holding a sheep under one arm they 
 paddle with the other, and thus cross the stream. Some 
 of the sheep, however, got disengaged by struggling, 
 and others got their heads under water ; these were 
 generally drowned. The flock I saw carried over, about 
 five hundred in number, belonged to Mr. Kruger ; out 
 of these thirty-one were drowned, and the Bushmen 
 were very happy to obtain the carcases in remuneration 
 for their trouble. Poor people ! they were thankful, 
 and this certainly proved the want of food under which 
 they were suffering. 
 
 Amongst the occurrences at the ford I should state 
 that my life was saved by a Bushman. I had been 
 considered a good swimmer, and seeing the Bushmen 
 crossing the river so easily, I expressed a desire to 
 accompany them. They gave me one of their rafts, 
 composed of two pieces of dry wood tied together at both 
 ends, and I made the attempt to reach the island on 
 this primitive machine ; but having advanced as far as 
 the midst of the stream, its force was so rapid that the 
 rope behind gave way and the logs divided. I sank 
 between them, and the front part turning towards the 
 stream caused a painful pinching of the arms, so that 
 I could not guide myself and began to drift down the 
 rush of the river below the island, when fortunately I was 
 seen by a Bushman from the banks. The kind-heart(^tl
 
 67 
 
 man jumped immediately into the river, swam up to 
 me, rescued me from the pending danger, and thus saved 
 my life, for had I once got into the rapids all chance of 
 escape would have been lost. Thus, under the help of 
 Providence, I owe my life to a man belonging to a 
 nation described as the most savage and barbarous in 
 South Africa, 
 
 The depth of the ford forced us to raise the lading of 
 the wagons, and for this purpose also the Bushmen 
 assisted us in gathering the necessary poles. 
 
 Whilst this operation was going on, Mr. Edwards 
 informed us that about two hours' journey lower down 
 the river the hippopotamus was to be seen, and anxious 
 to avail ourselves of the opportunity, Dr. Somerville, 
 Mr. Daniel, Mr. Edwards, a farmer (Frans Kruger), and 
 myself proceeded to the spot. Description fails to 
 delineate the scenery of this spot. Imagine the bank 
 on the side where we stood overgrown with beautiful 
 large trees ; on the opposite bank a hill nearly a thousand 
 feet high rising from the river edge, upright as a wall, but 
 with a bend in the middle ; beneath the precipice the 
 river flowing through a deep pool or basin, and in that 
 basin five or six hippopotami snorting and blowing 
 from time to time as they raised their heads above 
 the water. Having admired the interesting scene for 
 some time from the thicket where we lay in ambush, 
 our sporting spirit arose, and some shots were fired 
 at the heads of the huge animals as they peeped 
 above the surface. One of them was hit in the neck 
 by Kruger ; he was not seen again, and probably 
 floated down the river to regale some horde of 
 hungry Bushmen, while we returned to the camp 
 
 f2
 
 68 
 
 highly gratified at the scenery, though unsuccessful 
 as sportsmen. 
 
 On crossing the fields near the river, we observed 
 several circular and oblong holes dug in the ground, and 
 Kruger informed us that these were pitfalls of the 
 natives intended to entrap game. A pointed stake of 
 hard wood was planted in the middle of the hole which 
 was covered over with grass ; the space between the 
 several holes was obstructed by fences, and the deer 
 approaching the river for water, avoiding the fences and 
 naturally making for the open spaces, fell into these pits 
 and were staked. These holes were dangerous. to us, 
 especially when riding on horseback, and required 
 much attention to be avoided. 
 
 The grave of a Bushman captain or chief was 
 pointed out to us here ; it consisted of a large cairn of 
 stones with branches of trees, and Mr. Edwards informed 
 us that each Bushman on passing the pile was in 
 the habit of adding a stone to the heap, as a mark of 
 respect for the deceased. 
 
 On our return to the encampment, we found that Mr. 
 Jacob Kruger had already crossed the river with his 
 wagons. This was to us an encouragement, and on the 
 3rd of November, having prepared the wagons, we 
 attempted ourselves to cross the drift. Our two first 
 wagons, with Messrs. Truter and Somerville, reached the 
 opposite bank in safety, but the third was carried by the 
 strength of the stream into the midst of the rapids. The 
 oxen not accustomed in the dreary Roggeveld to cross 
 such roaring torrents, abandoned themselves to their 
 fate and began to drive with the current. The Bushmen, 
 sitting on the banks and seeing the peril, threw aside
 
 69 
 
 their karosses, swam towards the oxen, cut the cords 
 with their knives, and saved the whole span, save one : 
 another instance of kindly feeling in this much-despised 
 race. All our other wagons crossed safely, but evening 
 approaching, the wagon was obliged to be left in the 
 river in charge of some of the farmers ; however, we 
 succeeded the next day in getting it on the bank, but 
 not without the serious loss of those medicines which 
 had been packed in a box on the vehicle, and were 
 exposed to the effect of the water. 
 
 Before we quitted the camp there was an alarm that 
 the Bushmen had taken some of our cattle ; some of the 
 natives residing on the south-side of the river gave 
 the information (a further instance of their natural 
 kindness) ; but it turned out that two of our own 
 Hottentots herding the cattle had been mistaken for 
 thieves. On receiving the information, a commando 
 had been dispatched to demand the return of the cattle, 
 with instructions, in case of refusal, to retake by force ; 
 but happily, this course was rendered unnecessary. 
 
 The commissioners rewarded two of the Bushmen 
 chiefs and their people who had assisted us, with sheep, 
 tobacco, medallions, rings, &c., for their trouble ; and 
 they left apparently very happy and satisfied. 
 
 Our camp was visited by a great number of the 
 " witte kraai" (the Egyptian vulture or " Pharaoli's 
 Chicken"), a bird something in shape like'a sea-gull, but 
 double the size, of a grayish color, with yellow beak and 
 legs ; and also by a large brown hawk flying in num- 
 bers in the air above us. 
 
 The wagons being reloaded, we left the river on the 
 5th of November with the llev. Mr. Edwards and
 
 70 
 
 Jacob Kruger, who were now to be attached to our 
 expedition, and reached, on the 7th, the residence of a 
 Kora or Koranna chief and his horde at Modderfontein. 
 This people resembled the Hottentots, to whom they 
 belong; were dressed in skins, and spoke with a clicking 
 of the tongue. Assisted by an interpreter I took down 
 the following vocabulary of some of the words of their 
 language. The £ denotes the click : 
 
 man 
 
 kgaukweep 
 
 tiger 
 
 
 goassaauw 
 
 woman 
 
 kalakwees 
 
 wolf 
 
 
 t'kohaan 
 
 child 
 
 t'kgau t'koop 
 
 quacha 
 
 
 t'kogle 
 
 boy 
 
 t'kaan kodaap 
 
 hartebeest 
 
 (deer) 
 
 t'kam kam 
 
 girl 
 
 lato t'kodaas 
 
 gnu 
 
 
 ghow 
 
 house 
 
 kgoma 
 
 buffalo 
 
 
 t'kou 
 
 dog 
 
 alima 
 
 seacow 
 
 
 t'koes 
 
 cat 
 
 t'goaap 
 
 eland (elk antelope) 
 
 1 t'ganna 
 
 fire 
 
 t'geys 
 
 springbuck 
 
 
 t'koos 
 
 water 
 
 t'kamma 
 
 koedoe 
 
 
 geip 
 
 sun 
 
 solus 
 
 ostrich 
 
 
 t'kammiep 
 
 moon 
 
 t'geram 
 
 one 
 
 
 t'kure 
 
 star 
 
 t'kamaro 
 
 two 
 
 
 t'kam 
 
 earth 
 
 t'koop 
 
 three 
 
 
 t'nona 
 
 tree 
 
 heyiep 
 
 four 
 
 
 fraka 
 
 sheep 
 
 debigoe 
 
 five 
 
 
 kodoe 
 
 ox 
 
 goomaap 
 
 six 
 
 
 t'nann 
 
 cow 
 
 goomaus 
 
 seven 
 
 
 hingoe 
 
 calf 
 
 kien t'koaap 
 
 eight 
 
 
 t'keive 
 
 black rhinoceros 
 
 t'kabaas 
 
 nine 
 
 
 goeesie 
 
 white „ 
 
 mogoe koep 
 
 ten 
 
 
 giese 
 
 small „ 
 
 t'kouwbahas 
 
 sea 
 
 
 t'koelie kamma 
 
 cameleopard 
 
 t'keep 
 
 hill 
 
 
 t'koema 
 
 lion 
 
 gamma 
 
 
 
 
 At this place, a Bushman captain, called Caricoup, 
 brought us a large piece of rock-salt, and to him and a 
 Kora chief named Ilapaim presents were made of two 
 leather caps mounted with copper-plates, medallions, 
 tobacco, &c.
 
 71 
 
 Proceeding to a pass known as T'Karaap we found, 
 to our astonishment, a camp of Bastard Hottentots living 
 under a farmer named Jan Kok and his family. This 
 man discharged the duties of a missionary, and we heard 
 from him a discourse in Dutch on the third chapter 
 of John, chiefly on the subject of regeneration, which 
 raised the admiration of Mr. Truter, who had been an 
 elder for many years and political commissioner of the 
 Dutch Reformed Church, who was not prepared for such 
 extempore expounding of the Gospel in the desert from 
 an illiterate man. The service was in the evening. The 
 congregation, besides ourselves, consisted of his femily, 
 and several Bastard Hottentots who sat by a large fire : 
 the silence of night, the scenery around us, the wild and 
 strange appearance of those collected about us, invested 
 this simple yet earnest rehgious performance with impres- 
 sive solemnity. 
 
 Our forces being now all mustered, all the wagons 
 having successively reached the camp, we left Kok's 
 residence and reached, about half-past nine o'clock a.m., 
 the Aakaap or Rietfontein missionary station of the Rev. 
 Messrs. Kicherer and Anderson. On our arrival, we 
 found them performing service in a building fifty or sixty 
 feet long and about twenty broad, intended for a church, 
 though more resembling a barn, built of spars and reeds 
 and daubed with clay. We avoided disturbing them 
 and paid a visit to the semi-globular moveable mat-huts 
 of the Koras in the vicinity, but our approach alarmed 
 these poor people who fled, and we returned immediately 
 towards the church, where, after service, we were 
 cordially received by Mr. Kicherer and his fellow- 
 missionaries, Anderson and Cramer. Mr. Kicherer was
 
 72 
 
 also attended by Mr. Jacobus Scholtz (one of my 
 Stellenbosch schoolfellows, afterwards minister at 
 Malmesbury, and whose son, the Rev. Dr. Scholtz, 
 is now minister at Piketberg), and a farmer Christian 
 Botman, who assisted in the instruction of the Koras 
 and other natives. In the evening we had an oppor- 
 tunity of seeing the natives instructed in religion in a 
 manner which met Mr. Truter's high approval. 
 Besides the church, there was only one other building 
 as yet half finished, intended for a school, and a kitchen 
 of a semi-circular shape standing in the plain. This 
 station has since my visit considerably increased in size 
 and importance, and is at present a main station. 
 
 As we were approaching the Beriqua, now better 
 known as the Boshuanah or Beetchuanah country, it was 
 desirable that interpreters should be obtained, and we 
 succeeded in engaging one rejoicing in the appellation of 
 Kees Miklanga; and through him we secured a second, 
 Ruyter Makarita, both Beriquas, and tolerably conversant 
 with the Dutch lano;uao;e, and who were also to act as 
 guides. Thus provided, and having been assisted by 
 the Bastards with fresh oxen in place of those brought 
 from Roggeveld, seventy-six in number, which were 
 much fatigued and poor and unable to prosecute the 
 journey, and having remunerated our native friends for 
 sundry little items with which they supplied us and for 
 some sheep which we bought, we parted on the 12th 
 November from the amiable Mr. Kicherer and his 
 fellow-labourers amidst their best wishes. We had an 
 addition to our numbers in the person of Jan Meintjes 
 van den Berg, a farmer, and his Hottentot, Booy, and 
 towards ten o'clock at night we arrived at Gatie T'Kamma
 
 73 
 
 or Witwaterfontein, where we were detained repairing 
 the axle-tree of one of the wagons, and by a report 
 that some of our oxen were taken by the Bushmen, 
 which turned out to be incorrect. 
 
 On the 14th, we reached the Kabeetzie Gahe, or 
 BufFelfontein, where we saw some beautiful mimosa 
 trees and a large number of cranes. From this place, Dr. 
 Somerville and Mr. Daniel, Frans Krieger (a farmer), and 
 a Hottentot, Hendrik Booy, proceeded before the rest of 
 the expedition for the next station, with the object of 
 examining the country and meeting wild animals pre- 
 vious to our arrival with the wagons : however, when we 
 arrived about nine at night at a fountain called T'Joekat- 
 goenie or Dwaalfontein, they had not made their appear- 
 ance, to our great uneasiness; firearms were discharged 
 without effect, and the night was spent under apprehen- 
 sions for their safety. The nekt day a Hottentot brought 
 intelligence that they had encamped under the open air 
 during the night, an hour s march beyond us, and had 
 suffered from want of provisions. We then proceeded to 
 Welkomstfontein where we had the pleasure of meeting 
 our friends. We were here visited by some Bushmen 
 who appeared in a state of starvation, and gave them an 
 ample supply of tobacco and meat, with which they 
 departed making signs of having been rendered happy. 
 
 In our further progress we passed the TGoaypa, or 
 Blinkklips River, and arrived at Eende (Duck) fontein, 
 so named on account of the number of wild ducks found 
 at that place. 
 
 Hearing that at about one and a half hour's distance 
 from our camp, a natural grotto was to be found, Dr. 
 Somerville, one of the interpreters, and myself proceeded
 
 74 
 
 to examine it, and found a cave abounding in red earth 
 mixed with mica and iron ore. The natives dig this 
 out and besprinkle themselves with the powder, after 
 besmearing themselves with grease, which gives their 
 bodies a reddish, shining colour. Above the cave was a 
 small conical hill. The interior of the cave in itself was 
 sufficiently deep to observe objects at its fullest extrem- 
 ity. Wood-pigeons inhabited its crevices, and there were 
 several nests with eggs. The remnants of a fire indicated 
 recent occupation. Having admired the situation of 
 this grotto and gathered some of the ore, which was very 
 heavy and glittered in the sun, we returned to our camp 
 well pleased with our little excursion. We also visited a 
 deserted kraal, where we found several horns of the buffalo 
 and rhinoceros, — one of the latter about two feet long. 
 At this place, the first troop of buffaloes was seen near the 
 camp. Several of the herd were wounded but none 
 killed. 
 
 Our next camp was at the Naggaga, or Yzerberg 
 (iron mountain) fontein. Here the rocks on the moun- 
 tains had the appearance of blue polished steel, and 
 were so impregnated with iron that the needle of the 
 compass placed on one of the rocks turned at least three 
 or four times before it was steady. 
 
 On proceeding from thence to the Cossey, we saw 
 many ostriches, springbucks, and hartebeestes about this 
 lake, and several of the bastard jackals, differing from 
 those in the Cape colony. " Cossey" means this animal. 
 
 The lake was about three or four thousand yards in 
 circumference, girt with thick long reeds and to the 
 south-west with a large wood of mimosa. We were rather 
 surprised to find it nearly surrounded with holes about
 
 75 
 
 ten feet in length and six or eight deep. Our interpreter 
 explained that these were intended to entrap the game 
 (which was in great abundance in the vicinity) at night 
 when approaching for water ; and we actually found a 
 little steenbuck in one of the pits. It served to make a 
 delicious variation to the karhonatje, our daily dish. 
 
 Shortly after leaving this lake, we saw three herds of 
 buffaloes, about one hundred and fifty altogether, and 
 our farmers succeeded in killing three cows. These ani- 
 mals approached the wagons in front and behind, and 
 within musket shot. A beautiful lynx was also killed, 
 of a red colour, white on the belly, black on the points 
 of the ears and tail, resembling that of the domestic 
 cat. This animal is the red-cat of the colonists. 
 
 The buffalo has been so well described that I will 
 only say that those shot were of a dirty black colour, 
 the horns bent upwards, the 'ears broad, and the hind- 
 quarters low, so that in galloping they resembled the 
 pig. The skinning and securing some of the meat 
 detained us about three hours. At ten o'clock p.m., our 
 oxen were fatigued and could not proceed, so we 
 encamped in an open field without water. Pitiful were 
 the cries of these animals seeking to quench their thirst. 
 The Hottentots were also suffering for want of water, 
 and the guides were uncertain as to our distance 
 from any fountain. Our interpreter, Ruyter, thought that 
 the nearest fountain was at a great distance. Those who 
 have travelled through the African deserts without water 
 can only imagine how dejected and low-spirited were 
 all belonging to the train. 
 
 Early next morning, we left the camp. We observed 
 at a distance several buffaloes and were agreeably
 
 76 
 
 surprised to see the first camelopardalis or giraffe, and 
 aftei-wards nine more. At a distance, they had the 
 appearance of long trunks of trees bent on one side, of a 
 grey colour. Dr. Somerville, who had the good fortune 
 to approach them to within one hundred yards dis- 
 guished the large brown spots. The height of the head 
 appeared about eighteen or twenty feet from the ground. 
 The farmers fired several shots without success. Their 
 running appeared very clumsy, yet each gallop was a 
 long stretch, so that the horses could not come up to 
 them. 
 
 We also saw at distance a strange buck with a long- 
 beard, known amongst the Boshuanahs by the name of 
 Tazectzie. None of our farmers had ever seen such an 
 animal, nor was its existence known to them. 
 
 Towards evening we arrived at a beautiful fountain. 
 Klaboeligani. How shall I describe the effect upon our 
 men and the cattle ? The first quenching their thirst in 
 any manner, collecting the water in their hands and caps, 
 or lapping it at full stretch ; the second bellowing for joy, 
 rolling in the water, and apparently insatiable. I can 
 scarcely express our gladness and gratitude for this 
 happy relief. 
 
 The tents being pitched, and we ourselves refreshed 
 by bathing, Primrose, our good-natured cook, speedily 
 converted the buffalo meat into a fine soup and other 
 dishes, and this added to the mutton chops, which he 
 knew how to dress to perfection, with the sight of his 
 jolly face as he dished up, afforded one of those meals 
 never to be forgotten . Oh ! how sound and soft was my 
 repose after the fatiguing thirty hours of travelling, and 
 how sweet the slumber of an easy mind.
 
 77 
 
 We had now arrived to within four or five hours' 
 journey of Patani, the residence of Serakoetie, brother 
 to MoHhaban, chief of the Beriquas or Boshuanahs, 
 and dispatched our interpreter Ruyter with presents 
 of tobacco and other articles, to apprize him of our 
 arrival and to induce some of the people to come to our 
 camp. They were reported to be a very timid race, and 
 we hoped by these means to open an intercourse and 
 attach them to us. The same evening four of them 
 came to the camp, and we had the good fortune to find 
 that our attempt to open a friendly communication had 
 succeeded. They undertook to convey to their chiefs 
 news of our approach. In the evening, they lighted a 
 small fire near the camp and amused themselves by 
 singing and dancing, and this display of confidence 
 augured to us a good reception amongst their tribe. 
 
 The name of these people amongst themselves is 
 Boshuanah or Beetshuanah ; the Koras or Corannas 
 call them Beriquas. 
 
 The following day we were visited, first by four and 
 afterwards by six Boshuanahs. Amongst them was 
 Serakoetie himself, who commanded a large extent of the 
 Boshuanah country and had extensive powers. Having 
 learned how his people were received and were enter- 
 tained, he seemed much pleased and remained in our 
 camp. 
 
 Wonder and astonishment were expressed on seeing 
 our tents, wagons, and the utensils and goods used ; 
 they were to them quite new. 
 
 The chief particularly admired shaving, I presume 
 as contrasted with the painful operation of pulling out 
 the beard practised amongst them, and begged to
 
 78 
 
 undergo the process. Our secretary, Daniel, undertook 
 to play the barber assisted by his servant, our droll 
 cook Primrose. This comical character made all the 
 preliminary preparations of towelling, soaping, &c., to 
 carry out the chief's wishes; the potentate meanwhile, 
 seemingly quite delighted, was seated on a camp chair 
 with a looking-glass before him, in full admiration of 
 himself The secretary commenced in great style, but 
 owing either to the razors being not quite sharp or not 
 scientifically applied, the chief pulled sundry wry faces 
 during the operation. When about half the face was 
 cleared, he begged that his eyebrows might be also 
 shaved. When one of them had been scraped away Mr. 
 Daniel pretended to leave off, and Serakoetie evinced 
 great alarm lest he should be obliged to return to his 
 people in this ridiculous figure. However, after being 
 kept a little in suspense, both beard and eyebrows were 
 cleanly shaved, and the looking-glass flattered the chief's 
 vanity, for he seemed extremely satisfied with his appear- 
 ance. He was rather a tall man, and had a fine upright 
 figure, a pleasing expressive countenance, but rather a 
 " knowing" look ; his dress was a beautiful kaross made 
 of small squirrel skins ; his hair was powdered with a 
 mineral powder like plumbago, and his assegai in hand 
 gave him a commanding attitude. 
 
 Our secretary, in the course of a pedestrian excursion, 
 found, about half an hour's distance from our camp, a 
 beautiful little river of fine clear water. The commis- 
 sioners and myself proceeded immediately to the spot 
 and saw the water flowing from beneath a caverned 
 rock. We attempted to explore the cavity, but at a 
 distance of about twenty-five yards, it became so dark
 
 79 
 
 that we could not distinguish one another. The breadth 
 of the stream in the cave itself was about twenty-five 
 feet, and there were several bones lying about. Some 
 fifty yards from tJie spring, the river was thirty feet broad, 
 and a foot and a half deep. It was the source of the 
 Beriqua, or, as the Boshuanahs call it, Koeromanna or 
 Kuruman River. Delightful was the effect of this sight 
 upon us who had not seen a stream since we left the 
 Orange River. 
 
 Towards evening, we were visited by a severe thunder- 
 storm ; hailstones fell of the size of marbles, and larger 
 than I had ever seen. In the course of an hour we 
 had a serene sky, and our visitors spent the evening 
 with us, merrily singing and dancing around a fire. 
 After the storm had subsided we walked, and I saw for 
 the first time a wood of the Jree known by the Hotten- 
 tots as the kameel doom, or Mimosa Giraffe. The trees 
 were high, the leaves small, oval, green ; the thorns 
 reddish, the wood of a hard substance, smelling like 
 garlic ; the fruit a large white woolly pod, holding about 
 three rows of seed, outwardly having the appearance 
 of a green peach. The giraffes are very fond of them. 
 
 The next day Serakoetie requested to see some of the 
 articles we had brought for trade. He appeared to be 
 pleased with them, and insisted that, on our return, we 
 should revisit his residence. He promised to collect 
 cattle for us, and having received presents of tobacco 
 and other articles, he departed, seemingly much pleased, 
 leaving one of his followers, Moelooy, to be our guide 
 to the residence of his brother. 
 
 We left in the afternoon the fountain which had 
 afforded us so much pleasure and delight, and crossed
 
 80 
 
 the Kuruman near its source. The missionary Edwards 
 and his wife (formerly a Miss M. Schonnberg) remained 
 at that spot to select a site for a missionary station. 
 The secretary, Mr. Daniel, was the first European who 
 visited the source of the Kuruman, and the Rev. Mr. 
 Edwards the first missionary who, under the protection 
 of our expedition, founded that extensive and successful 
 missionary station now under the superintendence of that 
 good missionary the Rev. Mr. Moffat, but removed to 
 about three miles from the original station. We 
 encamped at a fountain named Mapoetie. 
 
 On the 24th, we were visited by four Boshuanah,s, 
 who apprized us that their chief had already received 
 intelligence of our approach. They received some 
 small presents to promote our friendly intercourse, and 
 we encamped at the fountain Moetgoaring, meeting on 
 the road quachas, hyenas, and gnus. 
 
 On the 25th, we proceeded to a fountain called 
 Gatarkomo, about a schoft (the common term for a day's 
 journey) from the chief's residence ; and the commis- 
 sioners resolved on the next day to proceed on a visit 
 to the chief, unarmed and under guidance of our inter- 
 preter Ruyter Makoeta, and to take some presents and 
 articles brought for trade with a view to prevent the 
 alarm which might be created by the sudden approach 
 of our wagons and train and the people retiring, as had 
 been experienced at Rietfontein. 
 
 On the 26th, Commissioners Truter and Somerville 
 preceded the wagons as proposed, on horseback, attended 
 by the interpreter. The secretary and myself followed 
 and reached Letako with our wagons towards evening, 
 and encamped about a thousand yards from the town.
 
 81 
 
 near a small stream named t'Kakoon. Soon after our 
 arrival, we saw the commissioners approaching with the 
 chief Molihaban and some of his principal men, all 
 apparently much' pleased. The chief was about fifty 
 years of age and had a very intelligent countenance. 
 He appeared to a certain extent civilized, and was even 
 polite in demeanor ; he held a long sjamhock, or whip 
 of rhinoceros hide, as the staff of order, and with it 
 enforced both respect and authority, for although a 
 number of people had encircled us they were by his 
 attitude kept at a respectful distance, and we saved from 
 pressure and inconvenience. 
 
 In outward appearance and dress there was hardly 
 any distinction between the chief and his subjects, 
 except some red copper rings of native manufacture 
 which he wore on his arms. The commissioners had 
 been well received by him, according to the custom of 
 the country. The people were amazed at seeing the 
 horses mounted with saddles, but especially at their 
 being so well governed by bridles. On the arrival of 
 the commissioners, the chief having saluted them offered 
 milk, of which they partook, and the natives expressed 
 every sign of contentment while the chief signified his 
 gladness and stated that he had known of our approach 
 several days previously. The presents were then de- 
 livered ; he examined them and appeared much pleased, 
 particularly with the looking-glass. Thousands then 
 approach our camp, mostly armed with assegais. Their 
 great mass made an imposing appearance. 
 
 Being the youngest and smallest in size, the natives 
 (who soon learned to know me under the name of 
 Piti) honoured me with their more special friendly 
 
 G
 
 82 
 
 notice. I found myself in a circle, where I had to 
 stand a close inspection and tickling in the face, with a 
 gentle pulling of the hair, to find out whether it actually 
 belonged to me, a touching of clothes and long smiling 
 stares ; in fact examined as though I had been some 
 curious animal, until, after half an hour's exposure, the 
 darkness of the evening relieved me, with face and 
 clothes exhibiting traces of the besmeared hands and 
 fingers of my inspectors. I deemed it prudent to sub- 
 mit to this overhauling patiently and with good coun- 
 tenance to ingratiate myself with my new acquaintances, 
 who overloaded us with milk brought in earthen pots of 
 a neat regular shape. The next morning a still greater 
 number visited us. The day was partly spent in 
 examining the town of Letako, a description of which 
 and of the inhabitants, with a specimen of their lan- 
 guage, I reserve for a separate section. 
 
 On the 28th we received a formal visit of state from 
 Molihaban, and stated to him the object of our mission, 
 namely, to open a friendly intercourse and establish a 
 trade in cattle on behalf of the Cape Government. The 
 chief entered into a narrative, how that, a few years ago, 
 he and his people had been attacked by the Bastard 
 Hottentot, Jan Blom, and his party, armed with 
 muskets ; how their habitations had been burnt and 
 destroyed, and most of their women and children cruelly 
 murdered, some sacrificed in the flames, and the greater 
 part of their cattle captured ; and how, though superior 
 in number, they were compelled to succumb, owing to 
 the inferiority of their arms ; he concluded, however, 
 by promising, notwithstanding what had occurred, to 
 produce as much cattle as could be spared for barter.
 
 83 
 
 The merchandise with which we were suppUed was 
 then exposed, but out of the whole stock he selected 
 only beads. It was agreed that for an ox should be 
 given two pounds of fine glass and porcelain beads of 
 various colours, or three pounds of small white, blue, 
 green, red, or yellow beads, or three and a half pounds 
 of large blue and white glass beads (the value of about 
 four rixdollars, fifteen shillings sterling) ; to the knives 
 they objected, as cutting only on one side, whilst theirs 
 were sharp on both ; to the tinder-boxes and steels, 
 because they themselves produced fire by the friction 
 of two pieces of wood ; to looking-glasses, as being of 
 no use ; to handkerchiefs, as not being so strong as their 
 leather caps. In fact, we found that Government had 
 been misinformed as to their real wants, and had selected 
 merchandise rejected by the natives as being of no value. 
 
 Our camp was visited at night by a wolf, which carried 
 
 off a buffalo skin. We attempted to kill it by tying a 
 
 loaded spring-gun to a tree, with the muzzle downwards 
 
 and baited ; but unfortunately one of the Boshuanah 
 
 dogs was shot instead. However, a second attempt was 
 
 made by placing his carcase under the gun and tying it 
 
 to the trigger, and soon after dark the report of the gun 
 
 being heard, we found a tiger-wolf, or spotted hyena, 
 
 had been killed. Great was the astonishment of these 
 
 people to find that such destruction was effected without 
 
 the presence of any human being. Such was their 
 
 abhorrence of the animal that each visitor administered 
 
 it a stroke with a stick or strap, so that when Mr. 
 
 Daniel wished to examine the skin, he found the whole 
 
 body cut to pieces and not a fragment of the skin left. 
 
 The flesh was destined for a feast. 
 
 G 2
 
 84 
 
 One of the farmers, Frans Kruger, shot two bucks, of 
 a species quite unknown to our party ; to the Boshu- 
 anahs they were known as pallah, and were by Enghsh 
 measure, in length, 
 
 From shoulders to tail ... 2 feet 10 inches 
 
 Tail 1 „ 4 „ 
 
 Neck 1 „ 1 „ 
 
 Head 1 ,, 8 „ 
 
 Circumference of the body . . 2 ,, 4 „ 
 They were both females. The colour was a general 
 brown, rather lighter below the belly and neck ; the tail 
 was partly black with a light tip ; the thighs marked 
 behind with a black and white stripe, and over the eyes 
 a white one ; the ears were longer than those generally 
 of the Cape buck ; the figure was handsome, and exceed- 
 ing in beauty, proportion, and other parts our 
 common antelopes ; the meat too was very fine, and 
 better in flavour than even that of the springbuck. 
 
 Mr. Daniel made from these specimens the capital 
 drawing which is to be seen in his published collection 
 of pictures of Cape animals. 
 
 Two other females were shot, and a young one brought 
 to the camp, which we hoped to be able to convey to 
 Cape Town. Ultimately, a male was shot ; he was of the 
 same colour as the female, and had horns about a foot 
 and a half long, black, bent inwards and wrinkled. 
 Another male killed had horns of two feet long. Two 
 more lambs, male and female, were brought alive to the 
 camp, and several springbucks shot. 
 
 About half an hour from the camp was to be seen the 
 ruins of a large town ; the habitations were circular in 
 shape, and the walls of stone, about four or five feet
 
 85 
 
 high, resenibhng the houses in the inhabited town ; but 
 none, not even the oldest of the natives, could give us 
 the history of its origin or destruction. In the vicinity- 
 there were extensive gardens, recently planted with 
 water-melons, beans, and holcus or Kafir corn. 
 
 The town of Letako we calculated to contain about 
 three thousand habitations, and from ten to fifteen 
 thousand inhabitants, and to be situated in latitude 26° 
 30' south, and in longitude 27° east. 
 
 On the 10th of December, finding that on the pre- 
 ceding two days no cattle had been brought to barter, 
 we consulted Moelihaban on the propriety of proceed- 
 ing to the Barrowlows, a nation about eight or ten days' 
 journey beyond Letako, and requested him to give us a 
 guide to the fountains on the road. He started many 
 diflficulties, — for instance, such as the dryness of the 
 season, and the uncertainty of finding water, that the 
 people further away were savages and cannibals, and 
 would murder us, for which he and his people would 
 be blamed and have to suffer. He added that, after 
 having heard the report of our intention, he had not 
 slept for three nights, so uneasy was he. The commis- 
 sioners, though not crediting these statements, found it 
 impracticable to proceed without the assistance of 
 Moelihaban, and to avoid further unnecessary expenses, 
 resolved to return, visiting in the first instance the 
 residence of Serakoetie. We understood that Moeli- 
 haban had two wives and twelve children. 
 
 The cattle bartered at Letako amounted to only eighty- 
 two, and two were received as a present from the chief. 
 
 The day of departure was fixed on the 12th Decem- 
 ber, but, before leavina;, the commissioners resolved to
 
 8() 
 
 make Moelihaban and his family some presents, con- 
 sisting of tinder-boxes and steels, knives, earrings, watch 
 chains, medallions, buttons, handkerchiefs, caps, rings, 
 scissors, tobacco boxes, tobacco, &c., ; and in return, he 
 sent the two oxen above mentioned. We left him a 
 signal, which, if produced by any party, would show 
 that he might safely trust them. 
 
 We left Letako in the presence of thousands of 
 spectators ; hundreds followed us, and we heard them 
 calling out in broken Dutch, " goeddag, goeddag, 
 heeren." They appeared a kind and friendly race, and 
 satisfied me that their affection might be easily gained 
 by good treatment; the cruelties they experienced from 
 the marauder Blom were sufficient to justify at first a 
 want of confidence on their part. 
 
 The second day after leaving Letako we saw two 
 Boshuanahs with four oxen approaching our camp ; two 
 of the cattle had strayed from the number bartered, and 
 two were sent as a present by Moelihaban, with a 
 message that he was now fully convinced of our good 
 intentions, and hoped to see us return the next year to 
 barter for full-grown oxen and calves. This instance 
 of honesty on the part of the natives in returning the 
 bartered cattle struck us very forcibly, and confirmed 
 the good opinion we had formed of their character. 
 
 I recollect that a young man. Toy or Touw, of very 
 pleasing and alfable manners and a follower of the chief, 
 had been constantly present with us in the camp at 
 Letako, apparently to observe our proceedings ; he was 
 again one of the messengers. 
 
 Moelihaban himself became more and more sociable 
 with daily intercourse ; he learned to take a great liking
 
 87 
 
 to our breakfast and tea, and often made his appearance 
 at these meals. We were, however, obhged to give 
 him a lesson or two to teach him to sit on the camp- 
 chair before he could comfortably join us. 
 
 We now proceeded to Patani, the residence of Sera- 
 koetie. On the road an animal unknown to our party 
 was shot, resembling the gnu and known amongst the 
 Boshuanahs as kokom. The head resembled that of the 
 ox, bent above the nose, overgrown with long black 
 hair as far as the neck ; under each eye a bare black 
 spot, the horns resembling those of the buffalo, a black 
 mane to the middle of the back, a long beard under the 
 chin, a broad neck, colour dark grey, the tail resembling 
 that of the horse, black to the ankles, the hoofs pointed 
 and divided. 
 
 Length from head to tail 5 feet 10 inches 
 
 Head 1 „ 10 „ 
 
 Tail 3 „ 3 „ 
 
 Forelegs 2 „ 9 ,, 
 
 Circumference . . . 5 ,, 10 ,, 
 
 Height ..... 4 „ 11 „ 
 
 A quacha marked all over the body with light-brown 
 
 and black stripes, different from the one shot on the 
 
 24th October at Leeuwenfontein, though resembling it 
 
 in figure, was also killed. 
 
 We met several small hordes of Boshuanahs, and 
 made them presents. 
 
 The missionary Edwards had moved lower down the 
 Kuruman River at a place called Mapizi, where he and 
 his companion had already erected a hut — (if I am not 
 mistaken this is the site of the present missionary 
 station) ; and we learned from them that one of their
 
 88 
 
 Hottentots had been attacked by a wounded lion, and 
 his arm seriously bruised and lacerated. 
 
 On our arrival, Serakoetie received us in a friendly 
 manner, attended by several followers, some of whom 
 sported parasols of ostrich feathers. We bartered only 
 four oxen and lost thirteen. Patani was situated 
 on a hill, and contained about four or five hundred 
 habitations, and from one thousand five hundred to two 
 thousand inhabitants. 
 
 Having made some presents to Serakoetie, we pro- 
 ceeded on to Mr. Edwards, who had completed his 
 little house or hut, and experienced during the night 
 a dreadful thunder-storm. 
 
 Our pioneers failed to find water in a direct line to 
 the Cossefontein, and we were therefore obliged to 
 travel along the Kuruman. On the journey our loss 
 in cattle increased to twenty-one. Before leaving, we 
 took final leave of the Rev. Mr. Edwards. Here I 
 witnessed the privations, too often suffered, borne by a 
 missionary. His habitation was a small hut of reeds, 
 furnished with a couple of wooden boxes, a few camp 
 chairs, and a table ; his bed was a mat on the ground ; 
 his wagon had been much damaged, and the tent or 
 covering nearly worn out ; his span of oxen looked 
 poor ; his only servant was an aged female slave ; his 
 wife was approaching her confinement, while he was 
 abandoned by his Bushmen servants ; surrounded 
 by unknown natives, and relying for food on his g'un. 
 Oh, how thankful were these poor people for the small 
 quantity of provisions, powder, lead, and other little 
 things we could spare. We parted amid best wishes, 
 and Mrs. Edwards appeared much affected. I had
 
 89 
 
 known her in comparative affluence, living with her 
 parents, the Schonnbergs, in Cape Town. She and her 
 husband trusted in the Lord, and were not forsaken in 
 the desert, but laid there the foundation for future 
 missionary labours, now so happily accomplished, and a 
 blessing to present and future generations. 
 
 Travelling along the banks of the Kuruman, we saw 
 extensive woods of the Mimosa Giraffe. One of the 
 trees measured nine feet and two inches in circumference. 
 
 While encamped in one of those beautiful mimosa 
 woods with which that part of the country abounds, three 
 large buffaloes galloped by us, passing our tents at the 
 distance of a musket shot. One of them, a large bull, 
 was wounded in the leg, but had sufficient strength to 
 approach the nearest thicket. Our secretary and super- 
 intendent Schultz were eager to establish sporting 
 characters, and with some of the Hottentots entered the 
 wood in pursuit. After an absence of about twenty 
 minutes, we saw poor Schultz returning, hardly able to 
 walk, bleeding in the face. He had seen the buffalo at 
 a short distance from him, under cover, and on attempt- 
 ing to move and take proper aim, the buffalo at once 
 sprung forward, tossed him up in the air and threw him 
 against a thorn tree. The animal being pursued by 
 some dogs was fortunately obliged to leave him ; but 
 he fainted after his return to us, and Dr. Somerville 
 found, on examination, that the ribs were materially 
 injured. The secretary who was near to Schultz, 
 observed the buffalo rushing forward, and saved himself by 
 climbing the nearest mimosa tree ; but my friend Daniel 
 appeared also to have suffered in clothes and face from 
 the thorns which it seemed he encountered in attempting
 
 <)0 
 
 to escape a greater peril. Had it not been for the kind 
 and judicious restriction of Mr. Truter, I would have 
 joined the party, and probably been another sufferer. 
 
 We now crossed from Klaboeligani to Cossefontein 
 in less than seventeen hours. Several giraffes were 
 again seen, and Jacob Kruger killed a black two-horned 
 rhinoceros. The huge animal measured 
 
 Length from head to tail 
 
 10 feet 
 
 7 inches 
 
 „ of tail . 
 
 2 „ 
 
 „ 
 
 „ of head . 
 
 2 „ 
 
 4 „ 
 
 Circumference . 
 
 9 „ 
 
 „ 
 
 Length of ears 
 
 „ 
 
 9 „ 
 
 Front horn .... 
 
 1 „ 
 
 4 „ 
 
 Back horn .... 
 
 „ 
 
 10 „ 
 
 The animal is too well known to need any further 
 description. We learned that there were two other 
 species, namely, a huge white one, known by the native 
 name of magveoe, the other smaller and frequenting hills, 
 named kemenjana. Ultimately, Mr. Kruger succeeded 
 in also shooting a female of the white species. Her 
 characteristics were the same as the other, but of a light 
 grey colour ; the udder had only two teats, the legs were 
 thinner, and she measured 
 
 From ears to tail . 
 
 From ears to nose 
 
 First horn on the nose 
 
 Second do. do. 
 
 Ears 
 
 Length of fore leg 
 
 Height .... 
 
 Circumference of knee 
 Do. do. body 
 
 7 feet 10 inches 
 
 2 „ 
 
 8 „ 
 
 1 „ 
 
 B , 
 
 
 1 „ 
 
 (i 
 
 
 „ 
 
 10 
 
 
 2 „ 
 
 1 
 
 
 5 „ 
 
 10 
 
 
 1 „ 
 
 10 
 
 
 10 . 
 
 

 
 91 
 
 Three blue elands were also shot ; they were larger 
 than the common or red eland, and of a lead colour. 
 
 On the 5th of January we again reached the Aakap 
 or Rietfontein. Bitter were the complaints made to us 
 against a Bastard Hottentot, Klaas Africaander, who 
 had murdered his master, a Mr. Pienaar, assisted by a 
 Pole, Stephanus, a man who had escaped from prison 
 in Cape Town, where he was detained for false coining. 
 Their murders of Koranahs and Kafirs on or near the 
 banks of the Orange River were numerous and cruel, 
 and their robberies of cattle very extensive. The 
 injured parties begged us to obtain them assistance and 
 protection, and to have these banditti punished who 
 kept the country in general terror. 
 
 Anxious to render these poor people assistance, the 
 commissioners resolved to 'visit the Koks' kraal, 
 Ikoubalas, or bittei' dacha, a large station of Bastard 
 Hottentots near the retreat of Africaander, with the 
 view of obtaining at that station more cattle in exchange 
 for the merchandise which now only encumbered our 
 wagons. 
 
 On the 6th, we bartered from the Bastards several 
 head of cattle and sheep, sold some of our goods to 
 the missionaries at cost price, and left Aakap or Riet- 
 fontein, having discharged the farmers under our com- 
 mando, who were glad to return to the Roggeveld. We 
 gave them a wagon and sixteen oxen and the necessary 
 provisions, and forwarded the first intelligence of the 
 failure of our expedition with letters to our friends in 
 Cape Town. We also took leave of our good guide 
 and interpreter Kees, giving him a quantity of goods as 
 presents and in reward for his services.
 
 92 
 
 The Rev. Mr. Kicherer, whom we met at the Orange 
 River, had the kindness to procure for us thirty-nine 
 head of cattle, sheep, and goats, in barter for goods. 
 
 A fish was caught in the Orange River, in length 
 three feet, in breadth eight inches ; it had a flat head 
 and no scales, but a skin like the eel, and which it also 
 resembled in taste. 
 
 We were detained by the flooding of the river from 
 crossing, until the 29th January, notwithstanding 
 attempts made by rafts and other means. The ther- 
 mometer rose on the 20th to ninety-seven degrees. 
 
 We passed several Kora hordes and kraals, and 
 distributed trifling presents amongst them : they appeared 
 very cheerful, fond of singing and dancing. We saw 
 in the Mimosa Giraffe trees large bird nests, about three 
 feet high, built of small sticks, and containing thirty 
 small cells or separate nests. This hive, the entrance 
 to which faced the ground, was inhabited by the loxia, 
 or sociable grossbeak, a bird of the size of the finch 
 and coloured like the lark, with a light blue beak. We 
 had a splendid view of the Orange River at this portion 
 of its course. The euphorbia with which the fountains 
 are poisoned by the natives to kill game, grew on the 
 river's banks. On the 4th of February we reached 
 the drift or ford in that river named t'Keys. 
 
 At this place the river was broad, and divided by five 
 islands into six nearly parallel branches. It took two 
 hours to cross the stream with our wagons. Fortunately, 
 we commenced early in the morning, for scarcely had 
 we reached the southern bank when the river rose ten 
 or twelve feet, though it was perfectly fine weather : the 
 flood was apparently caused by rains in the upper and
 
 93 
 
 more distant part of the rivers course. Had this 
 happened whilst we were crossing, the whole of our 
 wagons and train might have been lost. 
 
 The view, however, was grand as next morning the 
 river was seen in its full breadth, certainly not less than 
 a thousand yards ; the islands had disappeared, and 
 nothing but the tops of their trees were seen dipping 
 in the stream. Had this rise of the river happened 
 during the night, the whole of our camp would probably 
 have been swept away, for our tents were pitched, close 
 to the waters edge. We certainly had every reason 
 to be thankful for having thus providentially escaped so 
 imminent a danger. 
 
 Here we were met by a Kafir captain, named Danzer, 
 who confirmed the report of the cruelties committed by 
 Klaas Africaander. He stated that the miscreant had on 
 one occasion cut tobacco in small pieces and spread it 
 close on a skin, and induced some of the natives to pick 
 it up, and while thus occupied, they were attacked by 
 a number of Africaander's men, and cruelly beaten to 
 death, and those who attempted to escape were shot. 
 Notwithstanding such cruelties, his gang was daily 
 increasing. Danzer rejoiced to learn that an attack on 
 Africaander was contemplated, and longed for the 
 opportunity to join and revenge the injuries done to 
 his people. 
 
 A number of Bastard Hottentots from Rietfon- 
 tein, meanwhile, arrived at our camp, en route to 
 attack Africaander, and solicited assistance, which was 
 promised. 
 
 On arriving at a small kraal of Bushmen, named 
 t' Sarigaap, we saw a long hut of reeds, built by
 
 94 
 
 the Polish runaway and vile coiner Stephanus, Afri- 
 caander's colleague. This had been his dwelling, and 
 appeared to have been also used as a church by this 
 devout ruffian, as it contained the remnants of a pulpit, 
 and seats made of reeds ; as there was the figure of a cross 
 painted in red we presumed Stephanus to have been a 
 Roman Catholic. We understood that he used to abuse 
 the credulity of the poor natives, and assure them that he 
 was sent direct from Heaven to convert them ; and when 
 a fat ox or some other object attracted his desire, an 
 intimation that he had received a message from above 
 to claim the object secured possession. 
 
 On the 11th of February, we arrived at Kok's kraal, 
 or t'Kowbahas, and found Kok's son, Adam Kok. He 
 readily joined in the expedition against Africaander, 
 and forty Bastards armed with muskets proceeded 
 under him, accompanied by Dr. Somerville, Mr. Daniel, 
 and a farmer, Botma, in a wagon. On the 17th, these 
 gentlemen returned, for the wagon could not proceed 
 further, and they could personally be of no service. 
 They left the Bastards to act against their enemy as most 
 advisable, and brought thirty-six head of cattle captured 
 by the latter; but both Africaander and Stephanus 
 escaped. Meanwhile, preparations were made for our 
 return. 
 
 On the 22nd, the Bastards returned with full reports 
 of the expedition. Some days after Dr. Somerville had 
 left them, they attacked Africaander's kraal, but he 
 having received intelligence of their movements, escaped 
 with Stephanus and his party, favored by the darkness 
 of night. Having first extinguished their fires they 
 retreated to an island in the Orange River, from whence
 
 95 
 
 they defended themselves by firing with copper bullets, 
 fortunately without injury to any of the party. The 
 assailants brought back with them two muskets, one 
 anvil, about three hundred oxen, and one hundred sheep, 
 as spoils. The cattle were in part returned to the 
 owners from whom they had been stolen by the banditti, 
 and the residue divided amongst the commando. 
 Twenty-three were tendered to us for the assistance 
 rendered. 
 
 A Bastard, Hans Luykens, who had served as a guide, 
 related the most fearful stories of cruelties committed 
 by these banditti upon the Namaquas, of whom many 
 had been mudered. Women and children, were tied to 
 trees and, after being ill-treated, killed, and whole commu- 
 nities had been robbed of their cattle ; so that these inof- 
 fensive tribes, not able to defend themselves with their 
 inferior weapon, the spear, were now wandering about in a 
 state of want and privation, many perishing from hunger. 
 
 The Rev. Mr. Kicherer and his assistant Botma, who 
 had accompanied us thus far, left ; and we, after barter- 
 ing about seventy-five oxen, some sheep and goats, and 
 witnessing the effects of a panic which had been twice 
 created in the kraal by a report of Africaander's 
 approach, and which proved he was the terror of the 
 country, left on the 11th of March, giving some 
 presents to Adam Kok and his ex-chief Hans Luykens. 
 
 We were obliged to return by the road Mr. Kicherer 
 had taken to our old route, having failed to gain proper 
 information about water on the road via Hantam, which 
 otherwise^ being shorter, we should have preferred. 
 
 By this time, my friend Daniel and myself had 
 become expert riders on the pack-ox, and, being desirous
 
 96 
 
 to shoot a hippopotamus, kept along the borders of 
 the Orange River, nearer than the wagons. 
 
 On the 16th, we were gratified towards sunset with 
 the sight of four hippopotami gambohng in the river 
 near the bank. One would open its mouth very wide, 
 and another coming up would catch its companion's 
 lower jaw between its own in a playful manner ; then 
 both would sink and reappear, repeating the pastime. 
 Whilst thus sporting, the lower jaw seemed to lay flat on 
 the surface of the water, whilst the upper one opened. 
 Having amused ourselves for some time watching this 
 game, the Hottentot who attended us and had shot several 
 hippopotami, was sent forward ; he fired and wounded 
 one in the neck, but not mortally, and the amphibious 
 animal instantly disappeared. They must have been 
 very plentiful in this place, judging from their tracks. 
 
 On the 18th, Dr. Somerville, Mr. Daniel, and myself 
 travelled along the banks of the river to the kraal of the 
 Kafir captain, Danzer, where we met with a friendly 
 reception and were entertained with milk. Having 
 missed the wagons, we were obliged to bivouac for the 
 night in the open air, and returned to the camp, which 
 had been shifted a little lower down, the next morning. 
 
 We found a small kraal of Bushmen gathering locusts 
 for their food. The bushes and small trees had been 
 covered with these insects the evening before. The 
 process of preparation was simple. Fire being applied 
 to the brushwood, the legs and wings of the locusts 
 were consumed, the bodies dropped in heaps upon the 
 ground and were collected the next morning, and 
 having been exposed to dry in the sun on skins, 
 when sufficiently desiccated they were pounded into a
 
 97 
 
 powder, which was carried in knapsacks, and thus pre- 
 served, to be cooked with a httle fat, milk, or water. 
 This paste formed a material part of the food to this 
 poor race of human beings. One of our oxen dying, 
 we left it at their disposal, and in less than an hour the 
 whole carcass was removed by them for food, while 
 their expressions of joy and gratitude were unbounded. 
 Poor fellow-creatures ! 
 
 On the 21st we experienced another instance of 
 honesty in the Kora character, for on the 2nd of Feb- 
 ruary we had been obliged to leave a sick bull in charge 
 of them on the north side of the Orano-e River, and 
 now eleven Koras brought the animal back quite 
 recovered. We were much pleased, and rewarded them 
 with presents of knives, tobacco, and other articles, 
 with the view of encouraging such conduct, as well as 
 for the sake of creating a good feeling towards future 
 travellers who might follow us. 
 
 On the 22nd, as we were upon the point of quitting 
 the Orange River, Mr. Daniel and myself planned an 
 attempt, assisted by some of our Hottentots, to kill a 
 hippopotamus. We proceeded to a spot where a chain 
 of hills ran towards the interior, and which the wagons 
 had to pass round before they could again approach the 
 river, for the ruo-o;edness of its banks would not allow 
 a straight course. We thought we might safely venture 
 to spend the night on the margin of the stream, and 
 that on the following morning we should certainly meet 
 the wagons at the river on the other side of the moun- 
 tains. 
 
 Seated on pack-oxen we left the camp, accompanied 
 by three Hottentots, armed with muskets and abundance
 
 98 
 
 of powder and ball ; and confident of attaining our aim, 
 we proceeded along the banks. We were highly grati- 
 fied with the scenery the first day, but missed the object 
 of our excursion. At about eight o'clock in the even- 
 ing we reached a little thicket of trees, took up our 
 quarters for the night, and lighted a fire. The weather 
 was serene and calm, the least noise or approach of a 
 hippopotamus could have been heard, and we prostrated 
 ourselves on the grass full of happy expectations ; but 
 how great was our surprise, when, at about ten o'clock, 
 we were awakened from our slumbers by loud claps of 
 thunder and vivid flashes of lightning. We got up and 
 saw the horizon filled with black clouds, driven on by 
 a violent wind, and instantly there poured down such a 
 heavy rain that not a dry thread was left on our bodies. 
 
 When this deluge began to subside we applied to 
 our Hottentot in charge of the bread and meat for a 
 supply, but alas, he had, or pretended to have, lost it. 
 This was indeed distressing. By midnight the air was 
 clear, and a cool breeze playing through our wet clothes 
 made us shiver. We attempted to light a fire, but the 
 wood about us was so saturated by the rain that we 
 failed ; sleep had abandoned us, and we waited im- 
 patiently the dawning of day. 
 
 The morning which set in was happily bright, the 
 sun rose majestically above the hills near us and spread 
 its lustre over the beautiful scenery of nature around us. 
 We felt its happy effect on our wet garments, and never 
 was a morning more welcome to mortals than the one 
 we saw breaking. 
 
 In the cheering hope of meeting the wagons on the 
 other side of the chain of mountains, we commenced
 
 our march. After travelling- an hour we heard a loud 
 outcry from a number of people on the opposite side of 
 the river ; they appeared to be in great glee, and we 
 could see they were skinning a sea-cow. We beckoned 
 and called out to them, when two men seated themselves 
 on some pieces of wood and crossed the river. On 
 their arrival we recognized them as Bushmen, one of 
 them fortunately speaking a little of the Hottentot 
 language. On inquiry, he appeared to know something 
 of our wagons, and promised to conduct us towards 
 them ; the other undertook to supply us with some of 
 the sea-cow flesh, and again crossed the river. 
 
 We left the river, leaving two of the Hottentots who 
 were anxious to shoot a sea-cow, and took the third with 
 us, making sure of reaching the wagons under our guide. 
 Having travelled, however, two hours, no Bushman fol- 
 lowed with the promised meat ; and instead of reaching 
 our camp, we found ourselves suddenly in a Bushman 
 kraal. On perceiving us, men, women, and children 
 assembled on a small height about twenty yards from us. 
 They appeared bewildered and astonished, nor could we 
 prevail upon them to give us something to satisfy our 
 hunger; all they offered was a small quantity of locusts 
 prepared in fat. This, however, was too disgusting to 
 accept, hungiy as we were. Our position now appeared 
 rather hopeless, but we resolved to move onward, and 
 promised the Bushmen presents if they could convey 
 us to the wagons, but they merely offered to bring us 
 to another Bushmen kraal in one of the kloofs of the 
 hills in our rear. Their arming themselves, moreover, 
 with other preparations meanwhile did not indicate 
 peaceable intentions, and so we left. 
 
 H 2
 
 100 
 
 After proceeding about a mile, the Bushman guide 
 left us under the pretence of going to smoke a pipe 
 with his comrades. We waited a long time, but he 
 never returned, and we were thus left in this unknown 
 desert solely with one Hottentot, wholly out of our 
 route and amongst these lonely mountains. 
 
 We proceeded onwards for another half hour, and 
 saw a long kloof in the hills leading towards the point 
 from whence we started, and it struck us that the 
 wagons might have crossed through it, in which case 
 we could follow their track. We resolved consequently 
 to enter the kloof, which we did, and rode until dark 
 without finding any traces of the wagons. Night fell, 
 and we found ourselves on an immense plain, which 
 produced only a few low thorn bushes. Exhausted, 
 hungry, and low-spirited, we tied our poor pack-oxen, 
 which had hardly touched any grass during our travelling, 
 to these bushes, and laid ourselves down on the barren 
 ground. The appearance of the heavens augured a 
 terrible night. At a distance, flashes of lightning were 
 seen emanating from dark clouds, thunder was heard 
 gradually approaching the spot where we were, and the 
 mountains near us re-echoed the rattling noise. About 
 ten o'clock, the lightning became so vivid that the small- 
 est rock could be discerned; the peals of thunder were 
 awful, and torrents of rain succeeded. The night was 
 terrible, and sleep deserted our eyes. The state of uncer- 
 tainty of our position was most trying, and to this was 
 added the apprehension that we might be pursued by the 
 Bushmen for the sake of our oxen, and we were defenceless, 
 for muskets and powder were too wet to be used. Being 
 kept awake perhaps prevented our getting benumbed.
 
 101 
 
 The day at last broke. Before us was a level desert 
 as far as the eye could reach, behind barren mountains 
 with nothing but a little dry grass and some aloe trees, 
 known by the name of kokerhoom, the trunks of which 
 are used by the Bushmen for their quivers. We re- 
 solved to return by the same route by which we had 
 come, and if absolutely necessary, to kill one of our 
 oxen, and proceed thus provided with meat to attempt 
 to retrace our steps to the wagons, which might be done, 
 as we calculated, in four or five days. Our position 
 was, in fact, desperate. 
 
 We were driving our oxen, already too tired to be 
 ridden, when our last Hottentot under some frivolous 
 pretext left us ; and here were my friend Daniel and 
 myself deserted and in charge of the three oxen. We 
 contemplated killing one if possible, but here we met 
 another difficulty, for we had only a penknife between 
 us. The guns were useless, and the ultimatum was, 
 that ^YQ resolved to run the risk of again visiting the 
 Bushman horde and get them to kill one of the oxen 
 for us, giving them a full share. We felt this course 
 attended with peril, judging from the mode of reception 
 the previous day, but there seemed no alternative. 
 Mounting the oxen, one of us having a second in 
 charge, and pensively reflecting on our fate, we rode 
 till about two or three o'clock in the afternoon, when we 
 neared the entrance of the kloof we had entered the day 
 before. My friend, deeper in thought than myself, did 
 not hear the sound of the crack of a whip, but it dis- 
 tinctly struck my ear. We gazed at one another in 
 amazement and stopped ; the crack was repeated ; and 
 who can describe the happy emotion felt at the prospect
 
 102 
 
 of relief from our iniininent danger. As speedily as our 
 poor animals could be made to move, we rode to a little 
 hill not far off, and, from the summit of that never-to-be- 
 forgotten beacon of safety, we saw the camp at a 
 distance of scarcely a thousand yards from the spot 
 where we stood. 
 
 How shall I describe our sensations, — the happy look 
 of mutual congratulation at so unexpected a preserva- 
 tion, the smile accompanied by a tear trickling from 
 joy, the swell of gratitude in the bosom, the look above 
 towards Him who had so providentially saved us from 
 destruction. In fact, I can hardly describe the feelings 
 of the moment, — we were overjoyed : and thus closed 
 this first scene. 
 
 As quickly as possible we proceeded to the camp ; 
 and again how shall I picture the joy and happiness ex- 
 pressed on our safe return, certainly by none more than 
 by the Commissioners Truter and Somerville, and, more 
 particularly, by my good uncle Truter. He had made 
 up his mind never to meet us again, and was under the 
 greatest anxiety regarding our fate, and the prospect of 
 the painful duty of conveying the melancholy account 
 to my poor parents. 
 
 Our personal appearance helped much to increase 
 the concern felt for us. Imagine the sight presented 
 by two persons who had been about fifty hours without 
 food, in clothes torn from head to foot, covered with 
 clay, the brim of our hats so saturated that they covered 
 nearly half the face, the feet exposed through torn boots. 
 Such was our appearance. 
 
 Several persons had been sent out on the hills and else- 
 where to search for us, but all had returned without success.
 
 103 
 
 We were obliged, notwithstanding a ravenous appe- 
 tite, to submit to restraint. At first, a biscuit and glass 
 of wine were allowed. After bathing and changing 
 clothes, the tender-hearted Primrose roasted by stealth 
 a very small bit of meat, which, without the accompani- 
 ments of salt or bread, was to me the most delicious 
 morsel I ever tasted. 
 
 When more composed and after a couple of hours 
 had passed, we dined with the commissioners, who took 
 care that we should not overload our enfeebled stomachs, 
 and we cheerfully submitted, hungry as we were, to the 
 restraint with the best results. 
 
 During the evening we proceeded further along the 
 river until a thunder-storm stopped our progress. I 
 never felt the blessing of being sheltered so strongly as 
 I did sitting in the wagon 'during this tempest. We 
 encamped near a small Bushman horde. They were 
 enjoying themselves with playing their native music, 
 produced by beating on a pot covered with skin, a rude 
 drum known as the rommelpot. 
 
 The cause of the wagons not reaching the river the next 
 morning, as we had calculated, was the heavy thunder- 
 storm, which they also encountered on the first night 
 after our departure. 
 
 Never can I reflect on this providential escape without 
 expressing my feelings of gratitude to the best of Fathers, 
 who thus preserved me in the days of youth, and, to this 
 day, to record the event for my descendants and 
 posterity. 
 
 On the 25th, having left some small presents with the 
 poor Bushmen, we reached the spot named TJokohama, 
 where we were to leave that beautiful river which had
 
 104 
 
 afforded us so many interesting scenes and events, and 
 so much recreation. A Kora captain, Slaparm, offered 
 his services to guide us direct to Jonkersfontein, one of 
 our halting places on our outward route, v^hich we 
 were glad to accept ; and on the 27th of February we 
 left the Orange River or I'Gariep, probably never to 
 visit it again, and reached, on the 29th, Jonkersfontein, 
 where we, after travelling so long without roads, over 
 uneven grounds and fields, and merely by guidance of 
 the natives, at last again found a regular wagon road. 
 
 Captain Slaparm was amply rewarded with tinder- 
 boxes, knives, caps, copper-plates, copper-wire, tobacco, 
 Sec, and received a pass should he choose to proceed 
 to Cape Town, and left much pleased with his enter- 
 tainment. 
 
 On the 31st we were at Biesenfontein, and were 
 visited by the same Bushmen whom we had met 
 before. They expressed much happiness at meeting us 
 again, and received a sheep. I was astonished to see 
 the dexterity with which they killed and skinned the 
 animal ; each bone was separated from the flesh as 
 keenly as possible, the bones were crushed, and, together 
 with the raw kidneys, distributed amongst the children, 
 who seemed to enjoy the delicacy as much as ours 
 would cakes. The meat was laid on the fire, and, when 
 half cooked, devoured. The whole animal was con- 
 sumed in an incredibly short time. I can hardly 
 convey the expression of the happy countenances and 
 signs of gratitude of this native group. When night 
 came on they sat around a small fire, a few bushes 
 lieaped up scarcely more than a foot above the ground 
 to windward, and on the rainy side, served as a screen ;
 
 1 05 
 
 a lump of grass did duty for a pillow, and some small 
 and bare skins for a bed, on which they appeared to 
 enjoy as much repose as if they been the finest feather 
 beds. I saw a mother with a child scarcely two months 
 old lying naked in the rain, and rising the next 
 morning apparently quite refreshed. 
 
 Thus had poverty and privation trained these unfor- 
 tunate people ; their wants were reduced to the lowest 
 scale, and our trifling gifts appeared to me to make 
 them happier than I have seen many since in the midst 
 of affluence. I could not help feeling in how many 
 respects and degrees I had been favoured above these 
 my poor fellow-creatures. 
 
 On the road we were met by several other hordes of 
 Bushmen. Our sugar was consumed, and they supplied 
 us with beautiful honey, and' were rewarded with pre- 
 sents. We had gained their confidence, and some 
 followed our wagons. It struck me that a fair reward 
 would secure their services, for they parted quite 
 contented. 
 
 In passing the Karee mountains I was struck with 
 the appearance of these hills. It was a chain as far as 
 the eye extended of small Table Mountains ; the tops 
 appeared as if cut in a line measured by a rule. 
 
 At the Sack River we found that the Rev. Mr. 
 Kicherer and his party were preparing a house, or 
 rather repairing their former residence, for a missionary 
 station, and felt happy to find ourselves approaching 
 the Christian country. 
 
 Here we again experienced another instance of the 
 honesty of the Bastard Hottentots. Two of them 
 travelled fourteen days to inform us that a horse and ox
 
 106 
 
 left at the Omnge River were quite safe ; the swollen 
 state of the river had prevented their being conveyed 
 hither, but they promised to produce them in Cape 
 Town. 
 
 Two Bushmen captains, Ruyter and Slaparm, who 
 had faithfully served us as guides, were rewarded in 
 goods, and received a permissive certificate to reside, 
 until further orders from government, on a piece ot 
 unoccupied ground beyond the limits once occupied by 
 one Hendrik Korf. 
 
 On the 10th the last eland was shot in sight of the 
 wagons by our faithful Hottentot, who rejoiced in the 
 ridiculous name of Viool Dikkop (i. e. Fiddle Thick- 
 head). The meat was excellent. 
 
 On the 14th the Hottentots who were not to proceed 
 to town, and had attended the expedition, were rewarded 
 by the commissioners for their services in money and 
 goods ; and Dr. Somerville proceeded on horseback 
 from Kuilenburgs River to Cape Town. 
 
 We found that orders had been sent to all the field- 
 cornets to be prepared to render us every assistance. 
 The oxen furnished by the farmers were returned, and 
 payment was made for those lost. 
 
 On the 19th we reached Tanqua River, where we 
 were refreshed with beautiful fruit, such as figs, grapes, 
 oranges, &c., at a place belonging to a Mr. Floris 
 Visser. On the 20th we received at Field-cornet Hugo's, 
 at the foot of Schurfdeberg, letters requesting that we 
 should leave the wagons in charge of the superintendent, 
 Schultz, and proceed to Cape Town, and that his 
 Excellency the Governor desired we should do so as 
 soon as })ossible. Consequently, Messrs. Triiter, Daniel,
 
 107 
 
 and myself immediately proceeded forward on horse- 
 back. We touched at the place of a man named 
 Joachim Scholtz, situated between rocks and little hills 
 in the Schurfdeberg. A hillock in front of his house 
 was covered with flowers of various kinds ; and in 
 another in the rear of the dwelling, there were several 
 small caves, used to shelter cattle and as a fowl-house, 
 piggery, &c. The whole had a most romantic appear- 
 ance. The owner of the place himself was a man of 
 immense size, so much so that he could not wear the 
 usual articles of clothing; his daily dress was a night- 
 gown and shirt. The road hereabouts seemed to be partly 
 formed by blasting of rocks. The whole hill of Schurf- 
 deberg was an extraordinary collection of rocks. We 
 passed also the Witzenberg Pass ; had an extensive 
 view of the village of Roodezand, now Tulbagh, with 
 its fertile farms, vineyards, and cornfields, and of the 
 roads crossing the country. The weather happened to 
 be fine, and we were delighted to distinguish again the 
 tops of Table Mountain and the Devifs Hill. On the 
 road our attention was attracted by a singular rock, in 
 appearance like the fragment of a wall, thirty feet 
 high, with a large open square space nearly in the middle, 
 resembling a door. We arrived towards evening in the 
 village, and took up our quarters with Mr. Jacobus de 
 Wet, a truly kind man, and his hospitable family. 
 Here we again met the Rev. Mr. Kicherer, and on the 
 25th, having been kindly provided by Mr. Jacobus 
 Johannes Vos, the Burger Senator (Burgerraad), at 
 his place Maastricht, with a wagon and horses, we 
 arrived safe in the evening at Cape Town. I now 
 close my narrative of this long journey with Mr.
 
 108 
 
 Truter's own words : " We praised God for his gra- 
 cious assistance and protection through our long and 
 dangerous journey over deserts wide and unfrequented, 
 rivers deep and rapid, into the midst of a strange 
 nation, inhabiting a region hitherto unexplored." 
 
 Within a few days afterwards I returned to my dear 
 parents at their house, La Gratitude, at Stellenbosch : 
 and how shall I describe the reception ! Every mark 
 of aifection, and love, and kindness was bestowed on me. 
 I was considered as lost, for a report of my having 
 been cruelly murdered had reached them. The little 
 brother and sisters vied in their caresses ; my good old 
 nurse (I see her as yet with tears in her eyes) was full 
 of admiration of how I had grown ; in fact, the whole 
 household, my old school-fellows, and I may say a great 
 number of the villagers, friends of my youth, welcomed 
 me ; and the anxiety to listen to the account of my 
 travels and tales lasted for some days. 
 
 At last having been equipped for town, I returned 
 to my friend Mr. Truter, to finish the report and 
 account of our proceedings. His house was my home, 
 and there I had the good fortune to meet daily the 
 late Sir John Barrow and his family. The proceedings 
 of Commissioners being closed, I returned in October, 
 1802, to Stellenbosch, having saved £25 (the first 
 capital I ever possessed). It was placed in the hands of 
 my good father, who kindly allowed me interest until, 
 in later days, I required it on my marriage.
 
 109 
 
 SECTION V. 
 
 I NOW venture to submit to the reader a few of the 
 rough notes made by me on the spot on the different 
 tribes of natives, as they met my observation and from 
 the best information, commencing with 
 
 THE BUSHMEN. 
 
 The Bushmen inhabit chiefly the country between the 
 colonial boundary and Orange River, \%d a wandering 
 life, in constant pursuit of game, wild honey, bulbs, and 
 locusts, and live in perpetual dread of attack. They 
 rarely dwell in any habitation, usually seeking shelter at 
 the approach of night in the field like the ostriches. 
 Such of their huts as I have seen were about four or 
 five feet high, built of rushes, neither wind nor water- 
 tight, and lighted in the evening and night by a fire in 
 the centre, the smoke partially escaping through the 
 openings between the covering, enough being retained 
 within to make the eyes of strangers smart. 
 
 The adults are of small stature and hght-brown colour; 
 the new-born children are of a paler tint. The skin of 
 the full-grown is apparently parched up and wrinkled, and 
 generally looks as if scratched by thorns. Their hair con- 
 sists of small round tufts, ni appearance very like so many 
 peppercorns ; the eyes are bright, noses flat, cheek-bones 
 high, and their hands and feet remarkably small, the 
 fingers short and crooked by digging for bulbs and roots ; 
 in appearance, from want of washing, they are filthy. 
 
 The clothing worn by the male is generally a small 
 skin (kaross) on the back, scarcely reaching the upper 
 part of the leg; another piece of skin, commonly that of 
 the jackal, is worn in front between the legs and round
 
 no 
 
 the middle; he wears a sandal of raw skin tied with 
 leathern strings round the legs, and a few beads or claws 
 of animals round the neck, and on the head sometimes 
 the tail of a hare, or other such ornament, or, perhaps, a 
 leather cap ; in other respects he is perfectly naked. 
 
 The female also wears a kaross, but of somewhat 
 longer dimensions than that of the male, so as to 
 carry in its folds the babe supported on her back. 
 Round the waist are generally worn eight or ten rows 
 of small pieces of the shank bone of the ostrich, cut thin 
 and resembling beads. Her ears are decked with 
 copper or iron rings ; the division of the nose is perfo- 
 rated by a hole through which a small stick, three or 
 four inches long, is thrust crosswise. Round her arms 
 the strings for the husband's bow are twisted, in readiness 
 for use when required ; sometimes, in addition, she also 
 displays ivory, copper, or iron rings. In front she wears 
 a piece of leather with a fringe of long strips dangling 
 between the legs, which is also adorned with rings 
 similar to those on the arms. The female is also pro- 
 vided with sandals of raw hide. She generally carries a 
 knapsack and a pointed stick, which serves to gather 
 bulbs for food. From constant fatigue and from per- 
 petual exposure, the female only twenty or thirty years 
 old has the appearance of one double that age. Beauty 
 here has withheld her cliarms from the sex ; indeed, it 
 appears as if this species of our race stepped in between 
 the ourang-outang and the more perfect form of man. 
 
 The weapons of the Bushman tribes are the bow and 
 arrow, assegai, and the kirrie. The bow is com- 
 monly made of Karee wood and very tough ; its length 
 is from two to four feet. The string is considered best
 
 Ill 
 
 when twisted of eland o'ut. The shaft of tlie arrow 
 is a reed about two or two feet six inches long; the 
 head is a triangular piece of sharp-pointed iron, or 
 ostrich bone, it is smeared with the poison of snakes or 
 plants, and is fastened just below the point with sinews 
 which are secured by rolling that part of the arrow 
 over the tongue, — a dangerous operation, and one atten- 
 ded with great risk, should there be any wound on that 
 member. When an animal is hit the arrow remains in 
 the wound, owing to a small barb of bone projecting 
 about the middle of the poisoned part of the weapon. 
 To the stock of the shaft is a feather to regulate its 
 flight. These weapons are preserved and carried in a 
 quiver made of the trunk of the aloe, covered w4th a 
 leather cap and holds about thirty arrows. An experi- 
 ment made by Dr. Somervilte, on a small goat, proved 
 that the poison was not immediately fatal, but produced 
 a great swelling, which apparently aflected the vigor 
 of the wounded animal, and caused it to be over- 
 powered in pursuit. 
 
 The occupation of the men is hunting, gathering 
 honey, and warlike, or rather marauding, expeditions. 
 From being constantly pursued, these foxes of the wilder- 
 ness are ever on the alert, and hold themselves prepared 
 for defensive and offensive operations day and night. 
 In more peaceable and industrious times, they gather 
 gum, and dig up bulbs and roots, by indifferently 
 using sharp-pointed pieces of iron or wood, or their 
 forefingers, which are generally very strong. Reptiles 
 do not come amiss. On one occasion I saw a party 
 of them enjoying a large roasted snake, from which 
 the poisonous head had been previously severed.
 
 112 
 
 The poor female is obliged to follow the husband in 
 his wanderings after game, and in search of ostrich eggs 
 or other food. She nurses the children, carries the knap- 
 sack of food, and assists in digging bulbs and gathering 
 gum and locusts. She, moreover, builds their temporary 
 huts and does all the cooking ; and patiently shares the 
 privations of her mate. When in want of milk or food, 
 and hard pressed by hunger, the Bushmen will some- 
 times abandon their children as well as the aged, if 
 incapacitated from following the wanderers. 
 
 A more easy but precarious mode of obtaining food 
 is to dig holes near fountains or rivers, and stake them ; 
 the pits are then covered with grass or bushes, and deer 
 and other animals coming to drink are often entrapped 
 and killed. Another mode is to dam the smaller out- 
 lets of a river and drive the fish towards the shallow 
 parts, where they are killed with kirries or sticks. 
 They are also acquainted with the use of the eel-pot, 
 which they construct of slender twigs. 
 
 When hunger pinches they draw a leather or belt 
 strap daily more and more tight around the belly, 
 until the front seems to touch the backbone. There 
 have been instances known where Bushmen have 
 existed without food for eight days. They are corres- 
 pondingly gluttonous and, like the vulture when food 
 is plentiful, will gorge themselves until their stomachs 
 expand to an immense size, and they can move with 
 difficulty. When thus victualled, however, they are 
 enabled to face want for long time. 
 
 The chief luxury of the Bushmen is smoking. He 
 will travel for hours to obtain a bit of the weed. 
 Tobacco is the first word uttered when they approach
 
 113 
 
 you, as exceeding" all other wants, and when obtained, 
 their countenances are radiant with happiness. When 
 a supply of tobacco has been obtained, the smokers 
 seat themselves in a circle, fill the pipe (which is 
 commonly made of a green soap stone from four to 
 six inches long and about an inch in diameter), 
 and after lio-htino- it, hand it round from mouth to 
 mouth. These stone pipes soon get heated, and if 
 the party be larg'e, sometimes the last smoker finds 
 it so hot that he can scarcely handle it ; on such an 
 occasion, between the desire to have a pull and 
 the apprehension of burning the lips, there would 
 be a great struggle under the temptation, to the vast 
 mirth and amusement of the first served and more 
 fortunate smokers. The females join in this indulgence 
 with the greatest gusto. 
 
 Another enjoyment is the process of smearing their 
 persons with fat. The skin parched by the sun and 
 exposed to all weathers, and never washed, becomes at 
 last hard and wrinkled, and is further roughened by the 
 Bushmen practice of lying on the ground and travelling 
 through thorny fields, bushes, and shrubs, so that it 
 wholly loses that comfortable elasticity which the 
 clothed or more cleanly human being enjoys. Fat or 
 grease consequently acts as a lubricating ointment and 
 affords a great relief. 
 
 Occasionally, we had an opportunity of presenting 
 our Bushmen friends with an ample supply of grease, 
 and then would follow a scene. The elder personages 
 first helped themselves, smearing their bodies to their 
 hearts' content ; the children were next treated, until all 
 had changed their rough, weather-beaten exteriors for a
 
 114 
 
 glorious shilling appearance. Often not contented witli 
 this external embalming, they would drink cups of 
 melted fat, and when asked for a reason, the reply was, 
 " mynheer, al te danig lekker om van binnen and 
 van buiten te smeeren." (O sir, it is so very com- 
 fortable (or nice), to smear both in and outside). The 
 poor creatures ! how grateful were their looks and 
 expressive of thanks their gestures. 
 
 The Bushmen use as the signal of peace or truce the 
 tail of the jackal drawn over the point of a stick and 
 elevated in the air. With this emblem of their peace- 
 able intentions displayed, they generally ventured to 
 accost us, and on ascertaining our friendly wishes 
 hastened to spread them over the country. 
 
 Like many other barbarous tribes the Bushmen race 
 is not wholly devoid of a taste for music. Amongst 
 their instruments is one known by the colonists as the 
 rommel-pot. It is simply a vessel covered with skin, 
 and is played like a drum. Another, but less primitive 
 instrument, is a stringed bow, with a quill attached to 
 one of the extremities. This, when blown, produces a 
 sort of humming noise, and is accompanied by shrieking, 
 wild dancing, and jumping. 
 
 It cannot be denied that the Bushman, destitute of 
 property, and under the pressure of famine, is often 
 driven to beg, or even to steal, when the usual resources 
 of the chase fail ; but in the instance of our expedition, 
 whether owing to kind treatment or fear, certain it was 
 that we never experienced, among the many individuals 
 whom we encountered, the least tendency to steal. 
 Their food, by whatever means acquired, is shared in 
 common among them.
 
 115 
 
 In their wars and combats, they fight desperately. 
 There have been instances, as I was assured, when a 
 Bushman, having lost the use of his hands, has employed 
 his feet to draw the bow. 
 
 Our experience showed that they were not void of 
 feeling, nor ungrateful for benefits or kindness received. 
 Their conduct at the Orange River in saving life of men 
 and cattle at their own personal risk afforded sufficient 
 proof that this is the fact. There are many instances 
 where, employed as herdsmen and kindly treated, they 
 were both useful and faithful to their employers' interests. 
 When trusted with a flock of sheep on condition of 
 sharing half the produce, they usually managed to 
 increase the flock of their employer after the deduction 
 of their share. Who can doubt but that in these unfor- 
 tunate outcasts of the human race feelings exist which 
 require only to be kindled by kindness ? May the efforts 
 of Christian and devoted missionaries for the conversion 
 and civilization of these our benighted fellow-creatures 
 be blessed plenteously ! 
 
 The Bushmen whom we met did not appear to have 
 any idea of a Supreme Being, unless their behaviour 
 during thunder-storms, namely loud outcries, dancing, 
 and playing upon their drums, indicates fear of a 
 higher power. In moonlight nights, they practise 
 similar ceremonies. 
 
 The beehive in the mountains is a sacred property to 
 the finder. Woe to the man who carries off" the honey 
 from a marked hive, which is usually distinguished by 
 stones heaped up before it as a beacon, for as we 
 understood there have been instances when such an 
 encroachment was punished with death. 
 
 I 2
 
 ilG 
 
 With tliese brief notices, intended rather as a supple- 
 ment to the observations of other travellers, such as 
 Le Vaillant, Sparmann, and Barrovs^, I proceed to notice 
 
 THE BASTARD HOTTENTOTS. 
 
 The great stream, indifferently knovrn as the Groote 
 
 t'Gariep and Orange River, runs nearly due east and 
 
 west. It is in some parts navigable, and its borders 
 
 court the attention of the traveller by the numerous 
 
 mimosa, willow, wild apricot, and other fine trees which 
 
 shade its waters ; the rozyntjes or raisin tree (which 
 
 bears a berry resembling currants in taste), the t'ganna 
 
 bush, the ashes of which are used in boiling soap, and 
 
 other shrubs which constitute the underwood ; the 
 
 number of wild animals, such as a variety of the buck 
 
 or antelope tribe, pheasants, guinea-fowl, and other 
 
 feathered game and birds of fine plumage. Its waters 
 
 swarm with fish and the gigantic hippopotamus, while 
 
 the stream itself is engirt with extensive grazing grounds 
 
 adapted for sheep-walks ; its bed contains pebbles of great 
 
 variety and beauty, especially specimens of agate, onyx, 
 
 moonstone, jade, cornelian, bloodstone, and " ruby 
 
 sand," i.e., minute garnets, which are found in quantity. 
 
 A magnificent waterfall breaks the current of the stream 
 
 at a spot lower than that to which our travels extended : 
 
 it is described by Thompson and other travellers who 
 
 have visited it as being two hundred yards high, and 
 
 well worthy a visit. Alongside this noble river the 
 
 Bastard Hottentots, some few Bushmen, Kafirs, and 
 
 Koras had already settled themselves in different localities. 
 
 Amongst them the race first mentioned enjoy a degree 
 
 of independence and power but little known in the 
 
 colony.
 
 117 
 
 The Bastards are a hybrid race, originating from the 
 European and Hottentot ; their light colour and the 
 long hair of many betray their origin. 
 
 In dress, manners, and habits they resemble the 
 farmers of the frontier, as also in their pursuits of cattle- 
 breeding, and their addiction to hunting excursions. 
 Such of them as have not the means to obtain clothing, 
 and are obliged to appear in Hottentot costume, are 
 nevertheless to be distinguished from the original Hot- 
 tentot. They are, in fact, mostly emigrants from the 
 colony. Their habitations resemble those of the Hot- 
 tentots, beino- the same semi-circular huts covered with 
 matting, but larger ; they differ from the last-mentioned 
 race by being more prudent in making provision for 
 future wants. 
 
 They are served by Korsi or Koranah servants, some 
 of whom receive from six shillings to seven and sixpence 
 per month ; and by Bushmen who receive, for herding 
 and protecting their sheep, a certain proportion of the 
 lambs. The more affluent amongst them possess wagons, 
 which they repair with the neatness of a Cape Town 
 workman, and several have excellent muskets, which they 
 use with gi-eat dexterity and precision, ball practice 
 being a favourite pastime amongst them. 
 
 Manual labour is seldom used in cultivation of land 
 or for any other purpose. Cattle seem to supply their 
 wants abundantly, and this naturally leads to a pastoral, 
 inactive life. Undisturbed from without and contented 
 with few wants, they appear to enjoy a tranquillity 
 unknown to those engaged in the business and bustle 
 of civilized society; to count over cattle and sheep on 
 going to and returning from pasture seemed the chief
 
 118 
 
 occupation of the men, who, to their praise be it said, are, 
 or at least most of them, an exception to the other tribes 
 in their fondness for bathing. They are good sportsmen, 
 but not very courageous in meeting an enemy. This 
 we clearly saw when, on one occasion, a report reached 
 Kokskraal (the chief residence of the Bastards) that 
 the robber Africander and his gang were approaching, 
 for men, women, and children, on hearing the news, fled 
 and sought to hide themselves in holes and woods near 
 our camp, without an effort to defend themselves. 
 
 The chief amongst them was a man named Cornelis 
 Kok, a Bastard Hottentot ; he happened to be absent 
 when we visited his residence, but we understood that 
 he could read and write, and had been to a certain 
 degree civiUzed by intercourse with missionaries and 
 the colonists, and through frequenting Cape Town and 
 the colony. He appeared to command great respect 
 amongst his people, and by their aid and the services 
 of the neighbouring Bushmen and Koras had in no 
 small degree increased his flocks, which then amounted, 
 according to calculation, to about 45,000 sheep. 
 
 Kok had the good sense to secure to himself the 
 services of these native tribes by giving them a certain 
 immber of sheep in charge, allowing them half the 
 lambs for their trouble in herding ; their true and faithful 
 accounting annually was proverbial, and thus he pre- 
 vented both poverty in his neighbourhood and the 
 temptation to steal, knowing such to be the necessary 
 consequence of want. 
 
 By all accounts he lived in a style similar to that of 
 the colonists on the border, and exhibited a good 
 example to those about him, by introducing ideas of
 
 IIJ) 
 
 regularity, comfort, and necessary conveniences, and 
 social duties, which raised his followers far above the 
 tribes around them. He was considered a religious 
 man, and communicated the principles of his faith to 
 those residing about him, thereby preventing much evil 
 and many cruelties to which the people would other- 
 wise have inclined ; and thus he appeared not only to 
 command love and respect, but also to deserve a power 
 not fettered by restraint, and to maintain his directions 
 by the good feeling and co-operation of those about 
 him. His followers were not ruled by fear, but bore 
 him willing allegiance from affection ; his interests seemed 
 closely connected with theirs, and his superiority as 
 chief or captain was tacitly acknowledged. Union 
 reigned between him and his people, and his power was 
 supreme, yet not oppressive.' 
 
 I regret that this man was absent, for from personal 
 communication my observations might have been more 
 interesting and detailed. I was obliged, however, to be 
 content with such information as could be collected 
 from those belonging to his kraal, and from the notice 
 of circumstances within my own observation. 
 
 THE KORAS OR KORANAHS. 
 
 This people resemble in appearance, dress, habita- 
 tions, and customs, the Hottentots. Their circular huts 
 of twigs and reeds covered with matting are generally 
 filled with smoke, having no other outlet but the small 
 entrance. They are lazy in habits; some possess cattle, 
 while others are dependent on service for very small 
 remuneration. They supply their wants by barter with 
 the Beriquas or other neighbouring tribes ; their chief 
 food is milk ; they besmear themselves with grease and
 
 adorn their skins with powdered ores. They are divi- 
 ded into small hordes, governed by chiefs exercising a 
 patriarchal form of government and discipline ; and 
 thoy entertain no principles of religion except those 
 imparted by missionaries, which some appear eager to 
 adopt. They cultivate no ground, but enjoy at parti- 
 cular seasons a small berry, in appearance and taste like 
 the currant, which they collect in quantity, and which 
 when dried is preserved for winter use. Besides milk, 
 their common food consists of honey, locusts, gum, 
 game, bulbs ; but they are very sparing of their cattle 
 or sheep. Polygamy is tolerated, and women have no 
 easy task under the domestic arrangements ; they carry 
 their young children on their backs with great facility, 
 having a peculiar bend in that part of the body, and a 
 great development of posterior, so that they can afford 
 the little ones a very easy seat on a natural saddle ; the 
 breasts of some females are sufficiently long to admit of 
 being thrown over the shoulder, and are thus sucked by 
 the infant carried on the back. 
 
 The Koras are apparently one of the original Hotten- 
 tot tribes from the southern point of Africa, who have 
 migrated to this part of the country ; they are as yet 
 unsettled, and prefer a wandering life to a fixed abode. 
 Everywhere they seemed happy and contented with 
 their few flocks and herds, and their humble and easily 
 moved sheds ; of a cheerful and good-humoured temper- 
 ament. From the first to the last quarter of the moon 
 they did not fail to pass the greater part of the night, 
 especially about full moon, in singing and dancing. 
 This mild race was especially selected by Stephanus, 
 the Pole, as proper ()1)iects to be duped. On his ai'i'ival
 
 121 
 
 amongst them he announced himself a prophet, assuring 
 them that he had been sent many thousand miles, ex- 
 pressly to promote their future consolation and happi- 
 ness. Sir John Barrow, in the manuscript of his 
 journey, gives an account of this knave and impostor, 
 and his proceedings. 
 
 " He built a temple under the edge of a thick grove 
 of mimosas, erected an altar on which he encouraged 
 these silly people to make their offerings, selected from 
 the best of their flocks and herds ; with solemn mummery 
 he burned part of the victim and appropriated the rest 
 to himself. Sometimes, taking the advantage of a thun- 
 der-storm or of the overflowing of the river, he was more 
 exorbitant in his demands, and even found it expedient 
 to require the young damsels to be brought to the 
 temple. He carried these religious mockeries still fur- 
 ther ; at a little distance behind the wood there was a 
 mountain of considerable height, which this high priest 
 of his own constituted religion regularly ascended every 
 morning quite alone, on the summit of which he was 
 seen generally wrapped in a volume of smoke, occasion- 
 ally by his setting fire to the dry grass, or making a 
 blaze with gunpowder. He ascended this mountain, as 
 he pretended to the ignorant Hottentots, in order to 
 receive his instructions from heaven ; but the real fact 
 was that, independent of the view he had of imposing 
 on the simple Koras, he marched to the summit of this 
 hill, commanding an extreme view over the plains to the 
 southward, to ascertain whether the officers of justice 
 were in pursuit of him, — an event which the appearance 
 of wagons at a distance would have given him timely 
 notice to effect his escape.
 
 122 
 
 " These impious proceedings being at length commu- 
 nicated to the missionaries of the gospel, they resolved, 
 if possible, to seize the culprit and deliver him into the 
 hands of justice ; but this sly impostor being apprized 
 of their design, abandoned his temple and flock and fled 
 towards the western coast of the continent, where, on 
 the confines of the colony, he was recognized by a 
 Dutch boer and taken prisoner ; to whom, indeed, he 
 pretended to surrender himself, as being desirous to 
 give himself up at the Cape. The boer allowed him to 
 sleep in his own wagon, whose kindness he one night 
 repaid, by cutting the throat of his host with a razor, 
 and stole away to the lower part of the Orange River, 
 where he joined the noted marauder Africander. 
 
 " Thus, in all probability, had not the zeal and the 
 exertions of the missionaries defeated his purpose, would 
 this impious wretch have succeeded in establishing a 
 new and motley religion, partly Hebrew and partly 
 Greek, at the head of which as the Pater Deorum^ the 
 name of Stephanus might in after ages have been 
 rendered eminent among the ignorant Hottentots ; and 
 to what learned speculations on the origin of this society 
 might not the future discovery of so heterogeneous a 
 mixture of religions have given rise ? Such is the danger 
 of being led astray, to which the unthinking multitude of 
 all nations is exposed, if once they forsake the customs 
 and opinions of their forefathers, and commit themselves 
 to the impostures of artful and designing men." 
 
 Missionary labour and intercourse with traders and 
 others, a fixed establishment and certain form of govern- 
 ment, have however, since the period of our visit, trans- 
 formed the social status and condition of the country,
 
 123 
 
 now in many parts cultivated and improved to a consi- 
 derable extent, its habitants, both in their temporal 
 pursuits and in the practice of the Christian religion. 
 According to late accounts the missionary stations 
 amongst them have considerably increased. There is 
 also a more regular administration of government and 
 of public affairs amongst the Bastards, under the pre- 
 sent chief, Adam Kok, son of Cornelis Kok, — and their 
 progTess in agriculture, trade, and settlement of farms 
 is so far advanced that tracts of ground, formerly mere 
 wastes and deserts, have acquired great value, affording 
 a most promising prospect for the future. 
 
 I next proceed to offer a few remarks upon the 
 
 BUSHUANAH OR BEETCHUANAH, 
 
 originally known to us as the Beriquas. 
 
 The men of this nation are' generally well made (I 
 saw one about six feet seven inches high), of a darker 
 colour than the Hottentots, only the hair is black, closely 
 curled (or ^''pepper-corn' ) . They are often intelligent in 
 countenance, and wear the kaross, made sometimes of 
 the beautiful skin of the squirrel and other small animals, 
 sometimes of the hartebeest, whose tails are left, by 
 way of ornament, hanging from behind the neck. The 
 most singular garb, however, is prepared from the paunch 
 of the elephant ; it is elastic, warm, and has the 
 appearance of a thick white blanket ; we saw but few, 
 and these were highly prized. 
 
 The costume of the Bushuanahs is superior to that of 
 the neighbouring tribes, covering a gTeater part of their 
 bodies, according to our notions of decency. Their 
 ornaments are beads, the claws of the lion or tiger, and tails 
 of hares ; on the head feathers were worn. From the
 
 124 
 
 neck was suspended a pointed knife, sharpened on both 
 sides, and resembUng a small flat dagger, carried in a 
 sheath made of ivory or wood, beautifully carved and 
 ornamented with figures of animals. They also caried 
 a sharp-pointed long needle, of native make, used 
 to sow their karosses, to which a small leather oval snuff- 
 box was added, holding a light green snuff, compounded '] 
 from a mixture of tobacco and certain calcined shrubs, 
 pulverized so fine that when drawn through a small 
 reed of three or four inches in length (their way of 
 taking it), it passes through the nostrils and escapes by 
 the mouth like tobacco smoke. The mixture had the 
 appearance of green Spanish snuff. The reed is generally 
 worn in a small hole pierced through the ear. 
 
 Their earrings and earplates are of red and yellow 
 copper, obtained from the Barrolongs. I have seen 
 ten earrings worn by the same person, each about an 
 inch long. 
 
 The copper plates worn by some are about five inches 
 long and four broad, and they are kept very clean, and 
 as they shine in the sun have a rather good effect on 
 the dark skin. 
 
 Round the arms are worn rings of copper, beads, 
 and ivory, or eland gut, and to their feet are tied san- 
 dles of skin, secured with leather strings crossed round 
 the ankle and calf. 
 
 They are almost always armed with one or more 
 spears (assegais), in length from six to eight feet. Their 
 hair is anointed with a pomade of grease and iron ore, 
 and their head dress consists of crane feathers and the 
 tails of animals ; the body also is usually rubbed with 
 some sort of ore which keeps the skin soft and smooth.
 
 125 
 
 The male knows no occupation save that of war, 
 and to hunt, to make the kaross and watch and 
 graze the cattle. As a warrior he is brave, and generally 
 takes no quarter. There have been instances where, 
 rather than allow themselves to be captured, they have 
 thrown themselves from precipices ; one of those pre- 
 cipices was pointed out to us. 
 
 As hunters they are very expert. On proceeding to 
 the chase, they assemble in large numbers, and on meet- 
 ing game divide themselves into small parties ; one of 
 these lies in ambush while the others, approaching in a 
 circle surrounding and closing upon the animals, drive 
 them in the direction of these concealed hunters, when a 
 general attack is made with assegais and kiries, so that 
 but few escape. The game thus hunted commonly 
 consists of springbucks, elatids, or other antelopes; 
 but even the buffalo at times falls a victim to the 
 pursuers, who thus secure good sport. 
 
 Another mode of killing small game, such as the 
 lesser bucks, hares, pheasants, korhaan, partridges, is 
 by throwing the knob-kirie. This is done with such 
 precision that the animal has little chance of escape 
 at the distance of thirty or forty yards ; the prac- 
 tice requires much skill, which is acquired by con- 
 stant practice and is exercised from the days of 
 boyhood. 
 
 The principal food is milk ; it is poured in leathern 
 bottles having a small orifice (besides the mouth) plug- 
 ged with a stick. The milk is kept in the bottle some 
 days, when the little stick is removed, and the watery 
 portion of the milk escapes ; the thick or curdled milk 
 remaining in the bottle is the part consumed by the
 
 126 
 
 natives, who, for want of meat, corn, or other food, 
 are sometimes obhged to subsist upon this diet for days 
 at a time. 
 
 It is singular, but such is the case, that the men pre- 
 pare their own vestments. The mode of dressing a 
 large skin is as follows : they form a circle, and when 
 the skin intended for a kaross is sufficiently saturated, it 
 is tossed rapidly from one to the other, until it con- 
 tracts the elasticity of well curried leather. The tail of 
 the animal is preserved for ornament, as before stated. 
 The skin is softened by grease and iron ore, and is thus 
 made fit for wear. Smaller skins are carefully rubbed 
 between the hands, so that the hair or fur is preserved, 
 until they are sufficiently elastic. The prepared skin is 
 taken in hand, and with a sharp-pointed iron pin some- 
 thing like a large needle or awl, these skins are sown 
 together with the sinews of an eland or other buck, 
 with a neatness that would surprise even our connois- 
 seurs of needle- work ; and very particular indeed are 
 the Bechuanas in having their garments well finished. 
 
 They make superior herdsmen, and are very much 
 attached to their cattle and sheep. In the morning their 
 herds are divided in small groups, and placed in charge 
 of different men, apparently the regular herdsmen of 
 the town, by turns, who drive their charges to pasture 
 at fixed hours and return before the sun sets to stall 
 them in their kraals. On coming home again tlie 
 cattle, in particular, are welcomed and caressed by 
 their owners, and the favourites spoken to in terms of 
 endearment or high eulogium. I saw one evening a man 
 standing on a rock whilst the cattle were passing by as 
 they returned from pasture; he spoke loudly, and his
 
 127 
 
 gesticulations were those of an orator declaiming in native 
 style. His speech lasted for nearly an hour, the by- 
 standers bursting out into loud laughter at intervals, as 
 some of the cattle halted ; towards the close of the 
 harangue the speaker seemed exhausted. I inquired 
 from our interpreter what was the subject of the oration, 
 and was informed that it was all in praise of the orator's 
 cattle, and in particular of one, a great favourite, whom 
 his eloquence caused to remain near him. 
 
 When the cattle are secured, the men proceed to the 
 task of milking, and carry the milk home either in 
 wooden or earthen jugs, the latter manufactured by 
 the women. The pastoral occupations leave naturally 
 much idle time on the hands of the male portion of this 
 community. 
 
 The tasks of the women are'more severe. In stature 
 they are usually shorter than the men ; some when young 
 are good-looking ; their noses, however, are flat and their 
 lips rather thick, and age tells upon them soon, on 
 account their out-door work and exposure. Their dress 
 is more becoming and decent than any of the neigh- 
 bouring tribes — the kaross or skin manteau is longer 
 and covers nearly the whole leg behind ; the skin petti- 
 coat is doubled as far as the knee, and they wear, round 
 the arms, sinews of animals divided into fine threads 
 and plaited, and round the legs, above the ankles, rings 
 of ivory or of red or yellow copper. Their hair was 
 anointed with a pomatum composed of grease, fine clay, 
 and dung well-prepared and mixed, and the small 
 pepper-corn curls were divided into little cones about a 
 couple of inches long, which, when powdered with 
 shining ore, produced rather a striking eflfect as the
 
 128 
 
 coiffured lady was pleased to shake her head. Strange 
 to say, even among these children of nature, the female 
 had sufficient patience to endure her peruquier's efforts 
 for sometimes three days before she was satisfied or 
 ready to show herself in public. The odour, however 
 (water being never used for washing, but occasionally 
 some cow-dung substituted instead), did not exactly suit 
 our olfactory nerves. The ears were adorned with six 
 or eight of the copper rings above described. In the 
 morning, about eight or nine o'clock, the women are 
 seen leaving their houses in groups of two or three 
 hundred, with small pickaxes hanging over their shoul- 
 ders, — some with children on their backs and a bundle 
 of food, and generally with a wooden or earthen vessel 
 on the head for water ; they then proceed to work the 
 extensive gardens with these axes, and sow Kafir corn 
 (holcus), beans, watermelons, &c. Between three and 
 four in the afternoon they return to prepare the family 
 meal, consisting of boiled dried watermelon, corn, or 
 beans. The corn is ground in a hole with a flat stone at 
 the bottom, a primitive mill to be found in front of 
 every house ; milk or water is added in preparing the 
 mess ; after this meal they spend the evening, especially 
 on moonlight nights, in dancing, singing, or some 
 other cheerful pastime. They are, on the whole, of a 
 very mirthful disposition. 
 
 The women are further tasked in building houses and 
 constructing earthen pots or vessels, some of the height 
 of six feet, destined for the reception of corn, beans, 
 &c. They also make and bake earthenware, and 
 take care of the children, and attend to household and 
 other domestic arrangements.
 
 129 
 
 The adults of both sexes have holes bored in the 
 division of the nostrils, and carry a thin reed in it, kept 
 in readiness for taking snuff, which is always inhaled 
 through a tube. The females, especially, are much 
 addicted to this habit, and even children of seven or 
 eight years are admitted into the snuffing circle. I 
 have seen them sitting in a ring passing the snuff poured 
 out of the little snuff-bottle suspended from the neck by 
 a small bit of skin, and inhaling it until the tears 
 ran down their cheeks. 
 
 We had an opportunity of seeing one of their feasts 
 when a son of one of the chiefs married. Moelihaban, 
 the king, honoured the ceremony with his presence. 
 He was seated on the rather elevated trunk of a tree, 
 surrounded by several of his chiefs, and we were re- 
 quested to sit near him. We found ourselves seated 
 at the head of a circle of at least two hundred women, 
 all standing and singing a repetition of a rude song, 
 which is accompanied with a clapping of hands at each 
 note. The voices were very clear and the effect pro- 
 duced by clapping the hands to each note distinctly 
 and in accurate time was very striking. The perfor- 
 mance could be heard at some distance off. 
 
 About forty or fifty young men were admitted into 
 the circle and danced in fanciful dresses, covered with 
 tails of animals, or skins cut in strips with the hair on, 
 so as to resemble at a distance feathers. Some painted 
 half of the body with white clay, and kept leaping two 
 or three feet from the ground in different positions, 
 fantastically imitating animals and uttering their cry, 
 such as those of the lion, jackal, &c. The old monarch 
 seemed much pleased with the agility of his young men, 
 
 K
 
 and the least ended by a repast of roast beef and Katir 
 corn boiled in milk. Several of the guests, who were 
 in the habit of living on milk only, certainly did credit 
 to the entertainment. 
 
 The Boshuanahs kindle a fire by the friction of a 
 pointed piece of some peculiar wood, which is turned 
 rapidly between the hands in a notch cut in another 
 piece of wood held by the feet flat on the ground, until 
 ignition takes place. 
 
 I experienced their kind-heartedness often, when 
 walking by myself through the town. Milk was offered 
 in abundance, and one of them used to send every 
 evening, for " Piti," a pot of warm milk. 
 
 My train of young Boshuanahs when I moved to 
 shoot, or fish in the little brook near our camp, was 
 seldom less than twenty. The effect of the gun in 
 killing, or the hook in catching the small fish, was a 
 source of great amazement to the young fry ; and when 
 the first shots were fired, the report of the gun would 
 make them drop flat on the ground. This timidity 
 subsided when they saw that to them no harm was done. 
 
 The area of the town of Letako appeared to me to 
 be as extensive as Cape Town, including the gardens. 
 The houses are very conveniently built in the usual 
 circular form, with walls about six feet high and with a 
 verandah. They are divided into two portions, which 
 serve for sleeping and sitting apartments. They are 
 stored with large earthen pots, to preserve provisions ; 
 each dwelling is separated from that adjoining by a 
 thick hedge of reeds or twigs. 
 
 Our first travels about the town created great alarm ; 
 women and children skulked away, and retreated
 
 131 
 
 whenever we showed ourselves ; but our frequent visits 
 familiarized them to our appearance in time, and we 
 then had free access to the houses, where we were 
 civilly received. 
 
 By the assistance of our interpreter, Ruyter, I col- 
 lected the following specimens of the Boshuanah lan- 
 guage : 
 
 sun 
 
 let-ja t'jee 
 
 knees 
 
 lingoosie 
 
 moon 
 
 moeli 
 
 calves 
 
 le-kla-lee 
 
 stars 
 
 dena-leer-ri 
 
 shinbone 
 
 mo-mo 
 
 earth 
 
 ummae 
 
 feet 
 
 loe-nao 
 
 fire 
 
 mololo 
 
 heels 
 
 lek-golie 
 
 water 
 
 meet-zee 
 
 toes 
 
 mono-ana 
 
 air 
 wind 
 
 le-roe 
 pie-hoa 
 
 
 ANIMALS. 
 
 thunder 
 
 lee-roe 
 
 elephant 
 
 klan 
 
 lightning 
 
 lo-ga-riema 
 
 rhinoceros 
 
 t'joe-koe-roe 
 
 rain 
 
 poela 
 
 eamelopardale 
 
 s t'oe-kla 
 
 head 
 
 kla-goo 
 
 buffalo 
 
 narie 
 
 hair 
 
 nioreire 
 
 quacha 
 
 piet-zee 
 
 forehead 
 
 paat-kla 
 
 gnu 
 
 poe-loe 
 
 eyelashes 
 
 leentjee 
 
 gnu, black 
 
 coo-ko 
 
 eyes 
 
 maklo 
 
 eland (elk) 
 
 poe-hoe 
 
 ears 
 
 letzee wee 
 
 hartebeerft 
 
 kamma 
 
 nose 
 
 nient-ja 
 
 t'koedoe 
 
 tolo 
 
 cheeks 
 
 raa-roa-ma 
 
 ox 
 
 korao 
 
 mouth 
 
 molomo 
 
 cow 
 
 komena-magali 
 
 chin 
 
 se-lee-lo 
 
 bull 
 
 poo-lio 
 
 beard 
 
 li-tee-lo 
 
 calf 
 
 pa-manie 
 
 tongue 
 
 lo-lee-mie 
 
 goat 
 
 poeli 
 
 teeth 
 
 meno 
 
 sheep 
 
 unkoe 
 
 neck 
 
 kili-kili 
 
 springbuck 
 
 tseo-pie 
 
 throat 
 
 moko-kwani 
 
 duyker 
 
 poeti 
 
 shouklers 
 
 le-roe-rie 
 
 steenbuck 
 
 po-loelo 
 
 arms 
 
 let-joog 
 
 wildhog 
 
 ka-loopie 
 
 fingers 
 
 me-noo-ana 
 
 hare 
 
 moe-klo 
 
 breast 
 
 schoe-ba 
 
 dog 
 
 untja 
 
 stomach 
 
 niagolo 
 
 lion 
 
 tave 
 
 .side 
 
 lo-kla-korie 
 
 tiger 
 
 unquay 
 
 tlilgh? 
 
 seroepi 
 
 wolf 
 
 piri 
 K 2
 
 \A-2 
 
 jackal 
 
 poekoje 
 
 sand 
 
 le-haatzie 
 
 wilddog 
 
 le kan-jana 
 
 milk 
 
 ma-shie 
 
 squirrel 
 
 in-hee 
 
 meat 
 
 nana 
 
 baboon 
 
 tjoe-ee-nie 
 
 blood 
 
 marie 
 
 bird 
 
 hin-janie 
 
 - 
 
 
 feather 
 
 kla kala 
 
 one 
 
 moahela 
 
 fish 
 
 klapi 
 
 two 
 
 seeli 
 
 
 — 
 
 three 
 
 barora 
 
 sea 
 
 uoe-koe-konoa 
 
 four 
 
 bani 
 
 tree 
 
 se-kloo 
 
 five 
 
 maklona 
 
 house 
 
 un-kwe 
 
 six 
 
 oatzelitzo 
 
 hill 
 
 ma-jee 
 
 seven 
 
 oashoup 
 
 river 
 
 mo-lapa 
 
 eight 
 
 niarata-o 
 
 fountain 
 
 moetjouti 
 
 nine 
 
 gohera-monelinio 
 
 rock 
 
 lintjoee 
 
 ten 
 
 t'soeme. 
 
 Without wishing to draw too much on the patience 
 of my readers, by any further details of the , manners 
 and customs of the Boshuanali, I will only state that at 
 present the position of this interesting nation is entirely 
 changed ; old Letako is nearly abandoned, and the 
 natives are at present under the influence of that excel- 
 lent missionary, the Rev. Mr. Moffat, and his associates, 
 who are settled chiefly at Kuruman, where they have 
 established a flourishing missionary station ; — the Gos- 
 pel is there preached and read in their own language. 
 Civilization has made great progress, and both in dress 
 and manners the European customs are gaining ground, 
 while the cultivation of their lands is extended and 
 improved. 
 
 I close this chapter with a few remarks on the Boshu- 
 annah chief or king, Moelihaban. He left with us a 
 very favourable impression of his judgment, discretion, 
 and honesty. He was assisted in the government of 
 his town by Macraca, a chief born among the Barro- 
 longs, but who had for some cause been expatriated.
 
 133 
 
 Moeliliaban adhered strictly to our first agreement ; he 
 was moderate in his demands, and when some of our 
 oxen had strayed, though bartered from his people, he 
 caused them to be sent on to us after we had left. 
 
 He commanded great respect among his people. The 
 sjambock, a large thong of rhinoceros skin, was his 
 substitute for the sceptre ; its movements enforced 
 obedience, and the multitude, regulated by its exercise, 
 approached or kept aloof, as was required. Often, 
 when walking about the town, did we find the monarch 
 seated amidst a circle of elderly and respectable-looking 
 men, apparently in grave consultation, yet at the 
 same time social and affable in manners. 
 
 When the trade began to cease, two questions were 
 put to him by the commissioners : 
 
 1st. Whether he could ndt supply a guide to point 
 out the best road to the next tribe ? 
 
 2nd. What was his advice to us on our proposi- 
 tion to proceed farther into the interior ? 
 
 To the first he gave a negative answer, besides point- 
 ing out the difficulty of obtaining water at the foun- 
 tains at this time of the season, sufficient for our train 
 and cattle ; and on the second he expressed great appre- 
 hension for our safety amongst the natives farther off^ 
 and advised against the journey. 
 
 The candour with which these answers were given, 
 and his request that communication might be kept open 
 between him and the colonial government, — in fact, his 
 whole deportment, — convinced us of the sincerity and 
 prudence of his advice. 
 
 No little regret, however, was felt amongst us that our 
 wishes to reach the Barrolongs could not be accon>-
 
 134 
 
 plished. From what we heard, and from the information 
 received since, I have every reason to conclude that to 
 have opened a communication with that nation would 
 have been not merely desirable, but practicable, and of 
 great service. They were described as inhabiting a town 
 larger even than Letako, and being more numerous 
 and opulent ; it would therefore have been advantageous 
 not only to trade, but to extend our knowledge of 
 the interior and its inhabitants. 
 
 We parted from Moelihaban on the best of terms, 
 and amidst his earnest solicitations for our return.
 
 135 
 
 SECTION VI. 
 
 On my return to Stellenbosch in October, 1802, I 
 rejoined the office of the Secretary, where I remained 
 until the beginning of 1803, when the period ap- 
 proached that I should entirely leave the parental roof 
 and join the civil service in Cape Town. 
 
 Previously, however, to giving an account of my 
 future employments, I will endeavour to describe the 
 village and district of Stellenbosch (being the first of 
 the country districts established in this colony), the 
 magistracy, its inhabitants, and their customs and man- 
 ners in those days, adding some events which appear to 
 me remarkable in the history of that part of our country. 
 The village of Stellenbosch is situate about twenty - 
 six miles (or four and a half German mylen) from Cape 
 Town, in one of the finest and most productive parts 
 of the colony, in a valley surrounded by the Helder, 
 Jonkershoek, Banhoek, and Simon's or Drakenstein 
 mountains, and the Klapmuts or Papegaaij (parrot) 
 hills, and at a distance are seen the Bottelary and Sax- 
 enburg heights. In winter the settlement is a small 
 island, between the Eerste River and Klapmuts, or 
 Plankeburgs Rivers, and other little streams. 
 
 On the 8th of May, 1680, under Governor Simon 
 van der Stell, in consequence of disputes existing 
 between the inhabitants about their landmarks and 
 boundaries, the land surveyor Wittebol was ordered to 
 draw a diagram of a piece of land for cultivation in 
 that part of the country, to be named Stell-en-bos and 
 to be divided among certain of the inhabitants. 
 
 In August, 1682, four heemraden were appointed, 
 namely : Gerrit van der Byl, Henninghuisen, Grim,
 
 136 
 
 and Eberts, to decide on questions of land-boundaries, 
 roads, &c., and to report thereon, — and hereupon we first 
 meet with the name of Stellenbosch, which the settle- 
 ment retains to the present period, denoting Van der 
 StelFs bush ; some, however, suppose that the name 
 was composed of the joint names of Governor van der 
 Stell and his lady, Van den Bosch. 
 
 On the 20th September, 1G83, the village and its 
 vicinity contained thirty families, and a court-house was 
 built ; a schoolmaster was also appointed, to whom was 
 allowed a piece of land for cultivation. 
 
 In January, 1685, the first landdrost is mentioned, 
 and in August, 1686, Stellenbosch had already so con- 
 siderably increased that, at the request of landdrost 
 and heemraden, a secretary to the board, Mr. Sybran- 
 dus Mankadan, was appointed, as also a messenger 
 and undertaker, Pieter Gerritz, and an overseer of the 
 churchyard, Douwe Gerbrandt Steyn. Taxes on pro- 
 duce, pound-fees, and regulations relative to the water- 
 courses were introduced, and an annual fair was estab- 
 lished from the 1st to the 14th October. In order to 
 encourage sharp-shooting and exercise in arms, a sub- 
 scription was raised for a public butt or mark ; this was 
 a large wooden parrot : the highest reward was given 
 for hitting the head and displacing it. The exercise 
 was practised on the little hill near the village still named 
 the Papegaaijberg. A drilling-master was appointed 
 to drill the mihtia riflemen (schutters). 
 
 On the 29th of July, 1686, Commander Simon van 
 der Stell distributed at Stellenbosch to some new colo- 
 nists lands for cultivation ; he inspected those already 
 planted with trees and sown with grain, the rivers.
 
 137 
 
 ditches, &c., and gave directions to build a church and 
 pubhc buildings ; he requested landdrost and heemra- 
 den to. propose fit and able civil and militia officers, and 
 on their appointment the inhabitants presented their first 
 fruits and expressed their joy at the arrival of their 
 governor and promoter of their welfare ; — a company 
 of ons hundred and twenty-four riflemen appeared in 
 arms, their officers were installed, and the company 
 fired three salvos. Having communicated his views 
 with regard to the ecclesiastical and political state of the 
 country, and generously distributed to the inhabitants 
 lands, seed, and wheat for consumption, as well as 
 full-grown and young cattle — thus combining cordial 
 advice with support, — and having inspected a piece of 
 land, which had yielded seven abundant crops, without 
 manure, as fine as could be produced in Europe, Com- 
 mander Van der Stell departed and proceeded to Klap- 
 muts, about eight miles from the village, where he took 
 measures to effect the destruction of the lions, at this 
 period so destructive to the cattle belonging to the 
 Company, as well as private individuals. 
 
 The commander introduced at the same time the first 
 taxes, one destined to repair the bridges and roads and 
 destroy obnoxious animals, namely, on every hundred 
 sheep or twenty head of cattle possessed by the inhab- 
 itants of Stellenbosch, one guilder ; and another, to 
 maintain the church, namely, on every corpse buried in 
 the churchyard, nine guilders, including three for digging 
 the grave. A poundage was also instituted of three 
 stivers for every head of cattle and two for each smaller 
 animal found trespassing on lands. 
 
 On the 14th of October, 1686, the Commander 
 Van der Stell spent his birthday at Stellenbosch ; the
 
 138 
 
 officials, officers, iiiid other principal inhabitants, and 
 their wives, waited upon and congratulated him. The 
 burghers, eighty-eight strong, appeared in arms and 
 were inspected, at the request of the officers, after join- 
 ing the commander at breakfast ; three salutes were 
 fired, and the commander was so well pleased that he 
 gave the corps half a leaguer of wine to enjoy them- 
 selves. 
 
 The burghers absenting themselves from exercise 
 without proper cause were subject to a penalty of three 
 rixdollars, the amount to be expended in silver spoons 
 or medals, to be annually distributed amongst the corps. 
 
 This year and the three preceding were remarkable 
 for murders and robberies by the Ubiquas. 
 
 In 1687, the first corn-mill was built, the district 
 chest drawing ten stivers per muid as a tax, and fishing 
 in False Bay was allowed by licence, and a commonage 
 granted to the village. 
 
 In 1691, the first churchwardens for Stellenbosch and 
 Drakenstein were proposed by the ministers, and ap- 
 pointed ; among them, Claude Marree (probably ancestor 
 of the numerous family of Marais) and Pierre Roussou 
 (of the families Russouw and Rossouw, now spread over 
 the colony). 
 
 In 1691, the election of heemraden at Stellenbosch 
 was ordered to be made by the acting and late heem- 
 raden ; the oldest and ablest inhabitants were to be 
 proposed to the governor and council, and not by heem- 
 raden only. 
 
 In 1707, the parish clerk was appointed also to be 
 the parish school-master. 
 
 In 1710, landdrost and heemraden were recommended 
 to pl;mt trees along the roads.
 
 139 
 
 While the site of Stellenbosch was yet unoccupied, it 
 was known to the Dutch as " wild-bosch" (wild-bush). 
 The latter termination was apparently preserved when 
 Governor Van der Stell coupled his name with the set- 
 tlement. 
 
 Sometimes the surrounding hills, especially the Jon- 
 kershoek and Simon's mountain, are covered with snow. 
 I saw, in ISTi, the valley of Banhoek, at the foot 
 of the latter mountain, covered with upwards of one 
 foot thick of snow, and had the pleasure of presenting; 
 my father (who was then unwell) in his study with a 
 snowball, the size of a large bomb-shell. One part of 
 the scenery, I recollect, struck me particularly ; it was 
 at the estate of a Mr. Rossouw, at Banhoek, about an 
 hour's ride from Stellenbosch, where there was an 
 orangery ; the snow had settled between the leaves and 
 formed figures as though of feathers, and the effect 
 was most beautiful and striking. This estate was also 
 famous for producing gooseberries, still a rarity at 
 the Cape. 
 
 The soil of this fruitful valley of Stellenbosch gene- 
 rally consists of from three to six feet of clay, mixed 
 with sand of uneven depth, resting on a bed of stones, 
 visible along the banks of the river in the shape of 
 waves, and yet excellent for all sorts of trees and plants, 
 especially the oak and vine. 
 
 When this noble plant, the vine, is cultivated in 
 proper and well-prepared soil, it grows not only better 
 than in many other countries, but, well treated, will last 
 a centmy ; so that the father who plants may reason- 
 ably flatter himself that his children and children's 
 children will enjoy the fruits thereof.
 
 140 
 
 Almost all sorts of fruit, chiefly peaches, apricots, 
 pears, apples, figs, quinces, the banana, and other garden 
 fruits and vegetables may be cultivated with water, 
 manure, and sufficient labour, and in such abundance 
 that this village has sometimes been distinguished as 
 the orchard of the colon}^ 
 
 The climate is very healthy, and my father who, in 1825, 
 had resided there for about thirty-eight years, witnessed 
 no infectious diseases except the measles and small-pox, 
 which visited them for a short time ; the latter being 
 checked by the vaccine, which may be estimated among 
 the benefits introduced by Government. The sudden 
 variation of temperature, however, is apt to produce 
 rheumatism and the painful complaint, tic-douloureux, 
 known in the colonial language by the name of " zin- 
 kings," but under timely and judicious treatment, neither 
 of these complaints prove fatal. 
 
 The whole valley is supplied by water from three 
 small rivulets ; the largest of these flowing from Jon- 
 kershoek is named Eerste (first) River, and originates 
 at a waterfall or cascade, in a romantic grotto, well 
 worthy a visit. 
 
 The Eerste River flows from east to west along the 
 south-side of the village, supplying, in abundance, 
 wholesome and clear water, except in winter, when it 
 is rather muddied by the waste from its upper banks. 
 Men and animals have constantly drank this inestimable 
 gift of Providence ; it has never entirely ceased its 
 supply, though there have been years when the top of 
 its pebbly bed could be seen. A number of vineyards 
 and orchards are irrigated from this rivulet, both in and 
 beyond the village ; its utility is so great that each
 
 141 
 
 individual dwellino' near the stream in the villaae could 
 not be comfortable for a day without its supply. Well 
 might they in gratitude look up to the benevolent Father 
 of His creatures, and bring to mind the words of the 
 sacred poet in the 104th Psalm : 
 
 " He sendeth tlie springs into the rivers, which run among 
 the hills 
 He watereth the hills from above, the earth is filled with 
 fruit of His works." 
 
 A second rivulet flows from the Simon's Mountain, 
 rather more distant from the village, and runs on the 
 north-side, and after having supplied some neighbour- 
 ing places and served the brick-makers along the 
 Karnemelks River, at the foot of the Papegaaij moun- 
 tain, it loses itself in the Eerste River, which stream, 
 thus increased after servino- several estates alono- its 
 banks, is ultimately discharged on the Hottentots' Holland 
 beach in False Bay. 
 
 In 1825, the population of Stellenbosch mustered 
 1,855 souls, namely : 770 whites, 144 Hottentots, 852 
 slaves, 22 prize negroes, and 64 free blacks ; these, 
 added to the occupants of houses and places within the 
 circle of a mile's walk, would produce a population of 
 about 2,900. 
 
 Stellenbosch has thirteen streets. Three run parallel ; 
 the longest is Dorp-street, the middle Church-street, and 
 the one to the north, Plein-street ; the others run 
 crosswise, and are Ryneveld, Andringa, Bird, Molen, 
 Blom, Alexander, Brouwer, Herte, and Papegaaij -streets. 
 
 There are four squares — the Charles (after Lord 
 Charles Somerset), the Molen, King's, and Van der 
 Riet's-squares, the last named after the landdrost of
 
 142 
 
 that name. A beautiful walk of oak-trees occupies the 
 top of the village, aifording, in summer, a welcome 
 shade to the rambler. 
 
 The public buildings were, the drostdy-house, for- 
 merly the residence of the landdrost or chief magistrate, 
 now converted into a theological seminary ; a dwelling 
 for the secretary and messenger, and public offices (now 
 sold), the Dutch reformed church and a parsonage, and 
 the powder magazine. 
 
 In 1825, the village consisted of 171 private dwell- 
 ings and 5 1 out-houses ; and a church and school for 
 slaves and other heathens were built by subscription. 
 
 The two last were solemnly opened on the 5th Febru- 
 ary, 1824. The governor, Lord Charles Somerset, and 
 colonial secretary, the landdrost, Mr. Daniel Johannes 
 van Ryneveld, the local authorities, and directors of the 
 Stellenbosch missionary society, several clergymen from 
 Cape Town and churchwardens of the Dutch reformed 
 and Lutheran congregations, and representatives of the 
 South African and Paarl missionary societies were present. 
 
 My father, who had then been for about thirty-eiglit 
 years a minister at Stellenbosch, mounted the pulpit, 
 which had been presented by the churchwardens of the 
 Reformed Church in Cape Town, and delivered a dis- 
 course, taking his text from the 84th Psalm, from the 
 9th to the 1 3th verse, and the introduction from Deuter- 
 onomy 6, 4th verse, closing with an address pointing- 
 out that the object of the edifice, meeting and house of 
 prayer, was to promote the honour of the Lord and tlie 
 salvation of the heathen, and praying for it, as such, 
 the powerful protection of the Lord and His holy and 
 safe keeping.
 
 143 
 
 The Rev. Abraham Faure spoke also, taking his 
 subject from Luke 11, 32ncl verse, and the Missionaries 
 Evans, of the Paarl, Archbell, of the Wesleyans, and 
 Smit, of Stellenbosch, addressed a numerous assembly 
 of heathen in the evening. Great interest was shown 
 by the well-disposed. 
 
 From notes added to the report of that meeting in the 
 " South African Tydschrift " (periodical), 1st vol, page 
 25, it appears that as far back as 1788 several persons 
 in Cape Town and country had engaged themselves to 
 appoint certain days in the week for religious instruc- 
 tion to the heathen. In 1799, the South African 
 Missionary Society was established, to propagate the 
 Gospel to the ignorant, both within and beyond the 
 colony; and in 1825, the congregation at Graaff-Reinet 
 contributed about £950 for a building similar to the 
 one above mentioned. The then landdrost (now Sir 
 Andries Stockenstrom) had all the sash-Avindows made 
 at his own expense. 
 
 The necessity of missionary labour was sufficiently 
 evident from the fact that Cape Town alone contained 
 11,000 slaves at least, exposed to the influence of 
 Mohammedan priests, and liable to their perversion. 
 
 The missionary society at Stellenbosch had then 
 existed twenty-four years. The desire to know some- 
 |! thing of the first village and district in the colony is 
 i* but natural to my countrymen ; the spot where earlier 
 ) generations resided, whose remains are there depo- 
 ii sited, cannot be indifferent to their descendants; their 
 i hopes and anxieties, that which engaged their attention 
 1 and their chief occupations and pursuits, are of interest, 
 ! and therefore I will briefly mention some events from 
 i the Stellenbosch records.
 
 144 
 
 1 070. 1'lie village of Stellenboscli fouiifled ; a de- 
 scription of the locality and limits is to be found 
 in P. Kolbe's account of the Cape of Good 
 Hope. Vol. 1, pp. 92 and 93. 
 
 1684. The reformed church established. 
 
 1685. The first landdrost and heemraden appointed. 
 1689. The first clergyman of the reformed church, 
 
 the Rev. D. Petrus Simon, appointed ; he 
 preached in the French language. 
 
 1693. Resolved to cultivate trees here and at the 
 Paarl. 
 
 1697 — 1701. The district buildings vs^ere generally 
 let for tw^o rixdollars (eight shillings) per 
 month, and the public roads, M^ater- courses, 
 bridges, and mills attracted attention. 
 
 1703. The officers of the burgher mounted and 
 infantry corps desired to exercise at Stellen- 
 bosch and not in Cape Tovs^n, as heretefore. 
 
 1706. The Eerste River did damage to the district 
 stables ; the river divided, and ran in front 
 of and behind the Drostdy-house ; a capitation- 
 tax of two guilders per head imposed. 
 
 1708. The local board proceeded to Cape Tov^^n, to 
 report to Mr. Commissary Simons on the 
 state of the district, or as it w^as then called, 
 " colony." 
 
 1710, The village church, described as small but very 
 neat, w^ith a spire, burnt, and the whole village, 
 except two or three houses, laid in ashes ; 
 the catastrophe caused by a slave of the Land- 
 drost de Meurs carrying fire to smoke during 
 a strong south-easterly wind. The village was 
 rebuilt in four years, save the present church,
 
 145 
 
 which was not finished till 1722; it is built 
 in the shape of a cross, in length full one 
 hundred feet and thirty broad, and situate 
 about three hundred yards above the site of 
 the old church. It was considerably extended 
 in 1814, and holds five hundred seats. The 
 church is, with the congregation, under the 
 management of a minister, two elders, and 
 four deacons ; and from 1689 to 1858, twenty- 
 one ministers occupied the pulpit in regular 
 succession ; their names are to be found in 
 the periodical " S. A. Tydschrift," vol. 2, page 
 339. 
 1711. The first prison built. 
 
 1711. 23rd March. The first entry in the records, in 
 the handwriting of tli^ then secretary, P. Kolbe, 
 the well-known early writer about the Cape. 
 
 1712. 1,000 oaktrees were obtained from Rondebosch, 
 to be planted in the streets ; the large tree in 
 front of the present Theological Seminary was 
 probably planted this year. 
 
 1713. First district surgeon, Daniel Feyl, appointed. 
 Large troops of horses were running wild and 
 very destructive to the cornfields, and appli- 
 cation made to shoot or otherwise destroy 
 them. 
 
 1714. In order to prevent disturbances in church, 
 regulations were made for the sexton to place 
 the chairs of the ladies in certain order of 
 precedence, so that even in those early days 
 the question of precedence among the fair sex 
 seems to have been no matter of indifference 
 
 L
 
 146 
 
 1715. A number of men ordered to pursue some 
 run-away slaves who liad committed violence 
 and robbery. The governor commmiicated 
 an intended invasion by the Bushmen Hotten- 
 tots, and it was resolved to place at each post 
 namely, Ekse River, Wittenberg, and Pieke- 
 nierskloof, a corporal and six men mounted, and 
 to assemble a commando of thirty men, under 
 Harmse Potgieter. In 1760, these posts were 
 withdrawn. The expense of the commando and 
 out-posts amounted to 1,352 guilders, of which 
 the burgher senate in Cape Town paid 1.92 
 guilders. 
 
 1717. The expense of a new church, estimated at rix- 
 dollars 2,666 6sk. 4st. Great mortality for 
 the last three years among the sheep ; the 
 governor suggested that ewes should not be 
 slaughtered, which was considered a good 
 measure to keep up the supply. 
 
 1718. Damage done to the watercourse of the mill 
 and twenty-five men were put in requisition 
 for four days to effect the necessary repairs, 
 and eight men, with wagons and tools, for 
 three days to repair the streets. 
 
 The population at this time consisted of Europeans 
 from different countries, chiefly France, Holland, and 
 Germany exercising crafts or husbandry, and forming a 
 strange mixture with the Hottentots and other abori- 
 gines ; the distinction between master and slave was 
 then also known. 
 
 This mixed nationality seems ordained by the Governor 
 of the world for amalgamation and amazing exten-
 
 147 
 
 sion, and to prepare the road for the thousands who in 
 later days were to be born from them or emigrated to 
 this country, to have a common interest with the exist- 
 ing population ; a more detailed statement of the events 
 of these first sixty years of the existence of this district, 
 namely, from 1670 to 1730, and their connection with 
 the subsequent occurrences and incidents of Cape his- 
 tory, will be interesting for future research. 
 
 Between 1718 and 1739 nothing remarkable seems 
 to have occurred, but that last year was one of dis- 
 turbance. A certain vagabond, Etienne Barbier, a 
 sergeant, who had been confined in the castle in May, 
 1737, and escaped in March, 1738, had persuaded 
 ten or twelve inhabitants of the village to arm them- 
 selves and follow him, to oppose the authorities ; he 
 appeared with them, mounted, in front of the church 
 at Drakenstein, and after reading a certain seditious 
 writing to the congregation on leaving the church, 
 affixed it to the church-door, being the first act of open 
 sedition and rebellion in the Settlement. The Govern- 
 ment proclaimed his apprehension, and a commando was 
 proposed, but the heemraden, for the sake of peace, 
 resolved to give the followers of Barbier one month to 
 return, and secure their leader. 
 
 In a conference with some of the heemraden and 
 others, the followers of Barbier were promised pardon 
 if they abandoned him ; but they insisted on his 
 pardon also ; whereupon the Government promised 
 pardon only to those who should surrender up Barbier. 
 The records of Stellenbosch give us no further parti- 
 culars ; but the result was that on the 12th of November, 
 1739, Barbier, who had been captured, was sentenced 
 
 L 2
 
 148 
 
 to be tied to a cross and decapitated, the right hand 
 to be severed from the arm, his body to be quar- 
 tered, the head and hand fixed to a pole at Roodezand 
 (now Tulbagh's Kloof), and the other parts exposed in 
 different places. I saw that pole on my travels, in 1802, 
 still in existence at the kloof 
 
 This year was also remarkably distressing to the 
 colony. The Bushmen at Olifant's River and Jackals' 
 Valley stole cattle and killed a European servant and 
 three slaves, and threatened the safety of the inhabit- 
 ants at the Berg River. Measures were adopted for 
 defence and to attack the robbers and murderers ; but 
 the orders dictated humanely, " that care should be 
 taken that they should only act against the culpable 
 Hottentots, and not against those who were peaceable 
 and quiet, and at all events to adopt the mildest mea- 
 sures most consistent with Christianity." 
 
 A Hottentot, Titus alias Charmant, had endeavoured 
 to organize a gang and persuade the Bushmen to join 
 him in destroying the Europeans, killing those who 
 refused to abet him ; whereupon Jan Jurgen Hanekom 
 was ordered to make inquiry, and, if needful, to call out 
 a commando to punish Titus and his followers. 
 
 From a representation by the landdrost and heem- 
 raden, and memorials of the inhabitants, it appeared 
 that they were distressed and suffering from, first, being 
 loaded with debt; secondly, a bad harvest; thirdly, the 
 low price of wine, scarcely paying conveyance, and a 
 difficulty to find a sale for it; fourthly, the low price of 
 sheep and cattle ; and it was proposed to reduce the 
 rent of loan-places and grant to some their farms in 
 freehold.
 
 149 
 
 These were unhappy days of disturbance and ad- 
 versity ; but, under God's blessing, they disappeared. 
 The course of public events, under increasing popu- 
 lation and extension, began to appear more interesting, 
 even in the distant parts of the colony ; and the cha- 
 racter of this singularly composed society commenced 
 to develop itself distinctly. 
 
 It appeared that a commando proceeded, in 1739, 
 against the Bushmen, the expenses of which were paid 
 by thelanddrost and heemraden, to the amount of 1,628 
 guilders. 
 
 As an instance of the measures adopted to preserve 
 good understanding between Government and the Colo- 
 nists, I will give the account, from a record of the day, 
 of a meeting between Governor Hendrik Swellengrebel 
 and landdrost and heemraden 'and the militia officers of 
 Stellenbosch, on the 27th November, 1740. The inter- 
 view seems to be connected with the circumstances of 
 the preceding year, and marks the spirit of the times. 
 
 After the governor had stated he had especially con- 
 vened this meeting, he added that his object was to 
 recommend to landdrost and heemraden and the militia 
 officers amicably but earnestly to discharge the duties 
 of their offices according to their oath and obligation. 
 He addressed the landdrost seriously, and impressed on 
 his mind that, as he was appointed by the government 
 to maintain the rights of the East India Company, he 
 should also take care that the country inhabitants were 
 guarded against extortion, and see that the innocent 
 were protected and the guilty punished, and that it was 
 his duty to act vigilantly in concert w"ith the heem- 
 raden, to watch that justice was administered to these
 
 150 
 
 inhabitants impartially and under the fear of God ; 
 keeping in mind that they, his auditors, acted not on 
 behalf of man, but of God. He next admonished the 
 mihtia in case of attack of an enemy, either from the 
 interior or abroad, to support the Government and 
 courageously to step forward in its defence, in favour as 
 well of the mother country as of their own property, 
 wives, and children, and to protect the last, even at the 
 sacrifice of life and possessions ; he urged on them to 
 keep those under them in salutary disciphne, promising 
 maintenance and support. He further recommended 
 the diflferent members of the heemraad to honour and 
 respect the landdrost as their president, and reciprocally 
 the landdrost to maintain peace and good feeling amongst 
 the members ; and he then took leave of the meeting, 
 expressing the wish that it might please the Lord God 
 to spare this country and its inhabitants in mercy from 
 calamities, and that the ripening crops in the field, which, 
 under the blessing of heaven, appeared so promising, 
 might produce an abundant harvest ; he being, for his 
 part, determined to do all in his power to promote in 
 every respect the prosperity of the inhabitants. The 
 landdrost and respective members then oflfered thanks to 
 his Excellency, cordially wishing that Providence might 
 bless his person, and establish his government with all 
 desirable prosperity. 
 
 The record was signed by H. Swellengrebel, P. 
 Laurens (landdrost), Jacob Cloete, G. van der Byl, P. 
 du Toit, and D. de Villiers. 
 
 The effect of this meeting, so consistent with the 
 character of a colonial governor who united candour 
 and consideration with conscientious and earnest
 
 151 
 
 design, appears to have caused the re-establishment of 
 peace and tranquillity, respect and confidence ; and, in 
 subsequent years nothing is mentioned of disturbances. 
 
 In 1743, his Excellency Gustaaf Willem, Baron van 
 ImhofF, Governor- General of the Possessions of the 
 Dutch East India Company, who had, on his way to 
 Batavia, been installed with much pomp in the Castle 
 of Cape Town, observed to the Governor and Council of 
 the Colony that during a late journey his notice was 
 attracted, with surprise and regret, to the little attention 
 which was paid to public worship, and how careless 
 and ignorant the greater part of the country inhabitants 
 were in that respect, being quite indifferent about 
 religious matters, so that it resembled more a com- 
 munity of heathens than European Christians. He 
 proceeded to state he had coxisulted the ministers, F. le 
 Sueur and W. van Gendt, who attributed this state of 
 irreligion to the want of churches and ministers, and to 
 the great extent of the parishes of Stellenbosch and 
 Drakenstein; he therefore advised that two more 
 churches should be built in such situations as would 
 enable the distant inhabitants to reach them. 
 
 This suggestion, being considered by landdrost and 
 heemraden, led to the building of the churches at 
 Roodezand (now Tulbagh) and Zwartland (now Mal- 
 mesbury), and to the appointment of two parish clerks 
 to these churches, and another at Grootvadersbosch 
 (now in the division of Caledon), who were also to act 
 as schoolmasters and establish public schools in those 
 parishes. 
 
 These were the means by which our forefathers 
 checked the corrupt system of unbelief and immorality ;
 
 152 
 
 and where is the true worshiper of God and friend of 
 human kind who does not rejoice that our later govern- 
 ments, up to the present day, followed their praiseworthy 
 example ? 
 
 The Governor-general was not only anxious to improve 
 the moral condition of the inhabitants, but also their 
 temporal position, and displayed much concern about 
 the defective means for the conveyance of produce, 
 which appeared to be so toilsome and expensive ; he 
 showed every inclination to obviate or reduce them ; 
 but although his plan to make Berg River navigable by 
 boats or flotillas could not be carried into effect, yet the 
 motives which induced him to propose the scheme does 
 honour to his kind heart. Would that the adminis- 
 tration of this Colony had always been entrusted to men 
 who felt so deep an interest for its welfare. 
 
 The population of this country had extended itself 
 about this period in an east and north-eastward direc- 
 tion. A separate company of mounted militia was 
 established, composed of the more distant residents, 
 and two heemraden were appointed with special instruc- 
 tions for those fur-lying settlements, one of whom was 
 to appear at the board at Stellenbosch every quarter. 
 Officers for the militia, which was to assemble twice 
 a-year for exercise at Klip River, were named ; and in 
 1744 a deputy landdrost was appointed; but in 1745 a 
 second drostdy or division was established at Klip River, 
 and received the name of Swellendam. 
 
 To revert to the historical sketches of that part of the 
 Colony to which I am at present endeavouring to draw 
 attention, the desire to see a general history of the 
 Colony imperceptibly presses on the mind. It must be
 
 153 
 
 drawn, not from loose information or the notes of casual 
 travellers, but from the archives of the country. It is 
 difficult to govern properly a country of such extent, 
 and composed of such various material and population, 
 without the data and the mass of information to be 
 supplied by such a history, which should be a guide 
 in considering that which is acceptable or distasteful, 
 useful or mischievous, and point out the good or 
 obnoxious tendency of its ancient and recent laws and 
 institutions. 
 
 In 1747, a general order to keep a day of general 
 fasting and prayer was issued by Governor Ryk van 
 Tulbagh, in order humbly to pray for forgiveness of sin 
 and to obtain mercy, and that calamities might be 
 averted, — and particularly the scourge of locusts which 
 were destroying almost all vegetation. 
 
 In 1749, a Bantam pangerang or prince, Wargo 
 Digma, and two radiens or rajahs, Tutja Dixcata and 
 Tuersa Dierapa, arrived as prisoners of state, and a house 
 was purchased for their occupation at Stellenbosch. 
 Before these exiles, however, another pangerang, named 
 Loring Paster, had been banished by the Dutch East 
 India Company to the Cape. 
 
 In 1750, the parsonage of the Paarl was purchased 
 for 5,000 guilders. 
 
 The government requested the advice of the landdrost 
 and heemraden on the increase of population, and their 
 opinion whether there was not room for more families 
 to obtain their livehhood ; but it was considered that 
 under the position of the country there were already too 
 many in it to earn a subsistence, and that no means 
 could be devised for supporting more families ; the
 
 J. 54 
 
 statistical notions of our forefathers will be best tested 
 by comparison of the following returns of the district 
 of Stellenbosch : 
 
 In 1750—3,933 souls, 13,893 cattle, 71,684 sheep, 
 136 pigs, 2,309,000 vines, 2,541 leaguers of wine, 
 1,296 muids of grain sown and 7,098 muids reaped. 
 
 In 1825—16,446 souls, 25,924 cattle, 25,500 sheep, 
 2,543 pigs, 23,667,169 vines, 10,507 leaguers of wine, 
 5,240 muids of grain sown and 54,970 muids reaped. 
 
 In 1756 the price of meat was one stiver (three 
 farthings) per pound. In the same year the leprosy 
 made its appearance in two families. The sufferers were 
 examined by four medical men, and communication 
 with these unfortunate human beings was prohibited by 
 order of government. 
 
 The year 1757 closed with representations of the 
 poverty of the inhabitants in the country, and their 
 difficulty in raising, conveying, and disposing of their 
 produce. 
 
 In 1762 the drostdy house was burnt down, and the 
 year following the present building, now the theological 
 seminary, was commenced ; in 1767 the small-pox 
 broke out in Cape Town, but owing to preventative 
 measures it did not reach Stellenbosch. In 1812 it 
 again appeared, but by the vaccine which, by the 
 prudent arrangement of government, had been intro- 
 duced by Dr. White, of the 83rd regiment, the calamity 
 was checked, and I had the satisfaction of seeing that, 
 from out of the arms of my second daughter, then about 
 four years old, whom I held on my lap during the 
 operation, not less than one hundred and eighty indivi- 
 duals were vaccinated. 
 
 ^
 
 In 1769, under landdrpst Faber, the Eerste River 
 threatened to destroy the upper part of the village, when 
 its course was altered and brought into its present bed 
 under superintendence of the heemraden, who took 
 the duty alternately. Messrs. Martin Melk (who built 
 the original Lutheran Church in Cape Town) and Jan 
 Bernhard Hoffman especially distinguished themselves. 
 
 In order to give some idea of the prices of produce 
 in these days, I add a list of supplies to the working 
 parties, consisting of forty or fifty slaves and a number 
 of Hottentots : 68 muids of wheat at three guilders 
 (4s. 6d.) each ; 268 sheep at two guilders (3s.) each ; 
 eight leaguers wine at fourteen rixdollars each ; one 
 leaguer of brandy at ninety guilders (£6 15s.), — the 
 leaguer measures 150 gallons. 
 
 In 1770 the limits between Stellenbosch and Swellen- 
 dam were fixed, the Zwarteberg rising out of the 
 Thon's hills, from the straat proceeding east north-east 
 was the line chosen as far as the eye could reach fi'om 
 Lange Valley, between the sources of Olifant's and 
 Gamtoos Rivers ; and the Camdeboo remained in Stel- 
 lenbosch district, along the Bushmen Hills as far as 
 Bruintjes Hoogte, and numbers of farms were now 
 gi'anted in that part of the Colony. 
 
 Such was the determination to check drunkenness 
 that a case is cited of a man addicted to that vice, who 
 ill-treated his wife and children, and for whose protection 
 the magistracy proposed the removal of the man, and he 
 was sent as a private soldier to Batavia. What a regiment 
 could we not raise at present under such a regime ? 
 
 In 1776 a powder magazine was built to store ammu- 
 nition for internal defence. Regulations were made to
 
 156 
 
 preserve the plant producing the berry-wax. Fire- 
 engines were introduced in 1779, and the land of the 
 parsonage extended in 1778. Mr. Olof Godlieb de 
 Wet (subsequently member of the court of policy and 
 president of the court of justice) was appointed landdrost 
 of Stellenbosch. 
 
 In 1780 the law relative to passes issued to Hotten- 
 tots and slaves was suggested by landdrost and heem- 
 raden ; as this has been a subject much discussed, and 
 considered of late a regulation made in rude times and 
 too severe an infringement on the natural rights and 
 liberty of the subject, especially of the aborigines, and 
 an injurious law, I will be rather particular in noting 
 the resolution of 7th August of that year. 
 
 The landdrost stated that slaves, the progeny of female 
 slaves and Hottentots, resembled so much the free 
 Bastard Hottentots that it facilitated their desertion, 
 and he quoted the case of a murdered slave, where the 
 murderer, also a slave, having the appearance of a 
 Bastard Hottentot, went at large for eight years. He 
 also referred to several instances when such slaves had 
 deserted, gone into service, and received wages as 
 Bastard Hottentots. He also represented a case where 
 a Bastard Hottentot, the child of a slave and female 
 Hottentot, had been taken from appearance to be a slave 
 and as such apprehended ; and, after being detained 
 some time at public expense, found to have been 
 unjustly incarcerated. He proposed, therefore, that 
 application should be made to the high authorities to 
 establish some rule or regulation about the Bastard 
 Hottentots, to prevent these irregularities and inconve- 
 niences ; and the board resolved unanimously to forward
 
 157 
 
 a memorial to that effect. In 1781, in order further to 
 check desertions of slaves, the annual registry of all 
 Hottentots was ordered at the field-commandants, field- 
 wachtmeesters, and field-corporals. The lists to be 
 forwarded to the landdrosts. 
 
 In 1781 a report was received from the first com- 
 mandant in the eastern country, Mr. Adriaan van 
 Jaarsveld, that several Kafiir captains and Kaflftrs had, 
 contrary to treaty, occupied land on this side of Great 
 Visch River ; that warnings to remove to the other side 
 had been neglected, and that consequently they had been 
 compelled to do so by force ; that 5,300 head of cattle, 
 partly stolen from the colonists, had been captured and 
 divided amongst the men who joined the expedition. 
 This was reported by landdrost and heemraden, and 
 approved of by the Court of Policy, without, however, 
 being considered as a basis of future proceedings. 
 
 In 1782 the burghers Johannes and Francois Roos 
 proposed to build a bridge over the Berg River at their 
 own expense ; but the representations of those who 
 received the revenues of the pontoons prevented this 
 proposal from being accepted, though so practicable 
 and beneficial. 
 
 In 1785 Mr. H. L. Bletterman (who held the same 
 situation in 1795, when the Cape surrendered to the 
 English), was appointed landdrost, in the room of Mr. 
 de Wet above mentioned, and parts of the Stellen- 
 bosch and Swellendam districts were separated and 
 formed into a distinct magistracy, named " Graaf- 
 Rynet," after Governor Van de Graaf and his lady, 
 whose christian name was Rynet, under the landdrost 
 Mr. Mauritius H. Woeke.
 
 158 
 
 In 1786 the introduction of new taxes was pro- 
 posed by government, and deliberation thereon re- 
 quested ; and tithes on wheat and wine, duty on 
 other produce brought to Cape Town, and reduction 
 on rent of loan-places were suggested, but found 
 objectionable ; the leaguer of wine then sold to private 
 parties only produced from fifteen to eighteen rix- 
 dollars. 
 
 In 1787, the inhabitants of Roggeveld applied for 
 leave to occupy certain kraals of Hottentots, and to 
 check the Bastards, Hottentots, and Bushmen, who 
 wandered with arms. The first request was rejected ; 
 and respecting the second, the field-wachtmeester, Gerrit 
 Maritz, was authorized to deprive vagrant Bastards and 
 Hottentots, and others considered not safe to carry arms, 
 of their weapons. 
 
 In 1792, the revenue of the district chest, from 
 capitation tax, contributions, and toll of Hottentots' 
 Holland's Kloof and revenue of the mill, amounted to 
 /8,330, or about £625. 
 
 Constant incursions of the Bushmen disturbed the 
 inhabitants, and government resolved to order that the 
 three landdrosts, with two heemraden, should come to 
 Cape Town, to consult with the commander of the 
 forces, Colonel Gordon, about the best means to check 
 the inclination of the Bushmen to rob and murder. 
 Government also proposed the establishment of public 
 schools in the country districts, to instruct the children 
 in the first principles of rehgion, reading, writing, and 
 arithmetic, and the subject was recommended to the 
 special consideration of landdrost and heemraden, minis- 
 ters and churchwardens in the country.
 
 159 
 
 In 1793, the Commissioners-General S. C. Neder- 
 burg and Frykenius having expressed their views and 
 considerations, placed the government of the colony in 
 charge of Mr. Abraham Josias Sluysken as commis- 
 sary, that gentleman being then on his return from 
 India to Europe. 
 
 A singular case is mentioned in the book of resolu- 
 tions of 1794. 
 
 There was a law in existence, of 1728, emanating 
 from Mr. Noodt, authorizing " that all slaves in the 
 country, guilty of any capital crime, wounding them- 
 selves, and thus disabled to be conveyed, — and only 
 in such case ex illico in the presence of heemraden or 
 other qualified person at hand, — should be executed in 
 such manner as time and local circumstances should 
 permit ; provided the public prosecutor (officier) having 
 taken evidence and recorded proceedings (proces verbaal) 
 should report the circumstances properly to the Court of 
 Policy. 
 
 Accordingly, a slave, Abraham, who had wounded 
 his master, Matteam Hofman, and two of his sons, and 
 set fire to the house, and who, during his apprehen- 
 sion, had been so wounded that the medical men 
 declared his life in imminent danger, having confessed 
 the crime, was executed in front of the prison at Stellen- 
 bosch, by breaking on the wheel and the coup de 
 grace, under authority of landdrost and heemraden. 
 
 When, however, this case was reported to the com- 
 missary and court of policy, the proceedings of land- 
 drost and heemraden, as under the law above-mentioned, 
 were approved ; but it appearing that, since that law was 
 made (about seventy years previously), the circumstances
 
 1()0 
 
 of the Colony had been materially altered, with regard 
 to its great extension and the establishment of magistra- 
 cies in the remote districts it was deemed advisable 
 that the law, one moreover not emanating from the 
 government, should be repealed and rendered inopera- 
 tive, — the more so as in the far distant districts oppres- 
 sive and distressing cases might occur affecting slaves 
 and Hottentots ; and because, in a well-regulated society, 
 according to the principles of humanity and impartial 
 strict justice, it was better that an individual, though 
 suffering under wounds inflicted by himself, should be 
 fined by a competent judge with such solemnity as 
 should impress him with a sense of his guilt and 
 deter others from committing similar crime ; and further, 
 to prevent inferior officers and civil judges awarding 
 severer punishment than the court of justice would 
 inflict ; and on consideration that the order was issued 
 merely by Mr. Noodt, as president of the court of 
 justice, without authority of the political power or 
 sanction of the high authorities in Holland or Batavia, 
 the law was cancelled and ordered to be annulled, and 
 all officers of justice, and the landdrost and heemraden 
 in the country districts, received orders accordingly. 
 
 And now we find the last resolution, of 1st June, 
 1795, and approach the surrender of the Cape, by 
 capitulation, to British authority, under circumstances 
 and applications for relief which showed clearly that just 
 before there existed an increasing reduction in the 
 financial state of the colony. A perceptible change and 
 approaching dissolution of the system of government 
 by which this colony had been governed for so many 
 years was evident, when towards the the middle of the
 
 161 
 
 last-mentioned month, the English fleet arrived and the 
 burghers were summoned to defend the colony ; the 
 particulars of which are described in section 2. 
 
 The Landdrost Bletterman resigned after the capitula- 
 tion, and Mr. Ryno Johannes van der Riet was 
 appointed in his place. 
 
 M
 
 162 
 
 SECTION VII. 
 Having now, I trust, given sufficient information 
 regarding the foundation of and some subsequent 
 events relative to Stellenbosch, which is, as I have said, 
 the oldest country district in the colony, and served as 
 a model for the subsequently created districts, I now 
 proceed to events of a later date, namely, 16th Sep- 
 tember, 1795 (the date of the capitulation), taken 
 chiefly from the notes of my late father in 1828, to 
 which I also referred in the last section. 
 
 " As that day," he remarks, " is remarkable in the 
 general history of the colony, so is the 7th November, 
 1795, for Stellenbosch especially. Having myself lived 
 in those days, I believe myself to be in some degree 
 competent to sketch the circumstances of the times, as 
 far as memory will permit ; and if I should commit any 
 errors, my few aged contemporaries still alive are at liberty 
 to contradict those errors and correct my deficiencies. 
 
 " As a rule, the times were unsettled. There was no 
 lack of people who sympathized in the rage for revolution 
 which disturbed the greater part of Europe ; and of course? 
 there were also the conservatives. Both parties had 
 their reasons and objects, and, from the extreme violence 
 with which they supported theii* respective views and 
 endeavoured to establish them, there was every proba- 
 bility that, ere long, in a mixed population like ours, 
 consisting of free men and slaves. Christians, Heathens, 
 and Mohammedans, natives and foreigners, a singular and 
 motley compound of races in short, commotions would 
 arise of a serious and dangerous nature. In that posture 
 of affairs, however, the settlement capitulated to the
 
 163 
 
 British Government. General Craig assumed the reins 
 of government, and succeeded, as the first Enghsh 
 governor, the Dutch Commissary Sluysken, who soon 
 after left for Holland. 
 
 " Even as travellers unexpectedly encountering un- 
 known strangers stand in doubt, each gazing at the other 
 anxious to know what they have to hope or fear, so for 
 the first days after this political change appeared the 
 intercourse and communication between the English 
 and the colonists. 
 
 " Soon, however, some of the functionaries of the 
 former government attached themselves to the British 
 authorities, and they reciprocally to them. The course 
 of events passing in the original mother country, 
 Holland, the uncertainty regarding its position, and 
 chiefly that of the Dutch East 'India Company, — i^. fact, 
 mutual necessity and convenience operated jointly ; but 
 with regard to this village (Stellenbosch) no alteration 
 was made in its administration. 
 
 " The lately appointed landdrost only notified that 
 as we were now under the protection of the enemy 
 formerly so much dreaded, and overpowered by their 
 arms, we were obliged, whilst so protected, to be 
 faithful towards them, and that he by command of high 
 authority would administer the oath of fidelity to his 
 Britannic Majesty according to this form : 
 
 " ' I swear to be true and faithful to his Majesty 
 George the Third, by the grace of God King of Great 
 Britain, France, and Ireland, Defender of the Faith, 
 &c., &c., &c., whilst his Majesty shall remain in pos- 
 session of the Colony of the Cape of Good Hope. — So 
 help me God Almighty !' 
 
 M 2
 
 164 
 
 " The oatli was taken by all present, about fifty in 
 number, whose names are inserted in the Book of 
 Heemraad's Resolutions, vol. 22, page 5, and at the 
 combined meeting, the commission of the landdrost 
 was read, 'to act in his office according to the laws, 
 customs, and usages of the colony as it existed before 
 the surrender, and until further disposals were made.' 
 The commission was addressed and directed in a sepa- 
 rate letter to the board of heemraden, militia officers, 
 and chvirchwardens of the colony of Stellenbosch. This 
 being concluded, the relative position of the village and 
 adjacent district was considered as temporarily and 
 morally fixed and determined. Gradually, each one 
 began to adapt himself to the circumstances of the 
 times, although sometimes considerable difficulties 
 occurred ; but public duties were carried on upon the 
 old and established footing until the 15th of August, 
 1796, when the landdrost received a letter from the 
 Governor stating that the troops had been marched for 
 the protection of the country, and containing a requisition 
 for wagons for their use. He excused the inhabitants 
 from taking up arms, but expected a ready obedience to 
 his orders, in consequence of which first one hundred and 
 sixty-two, and subsequently thirty-five, wagons provided 
 with oxen were put in requisition. 
 
 " The cause of that extraordinary event was a Dutch 
 fleet which had arrived at Saldanha Bay under com- 
 mand of Rear Admiral Lucas ; but this squadron having 
 surrendered by capitulation to his Britannic Majesty, 
 its arrival had no further consequence, and on the 12th 
 of September heemraden in and out of office received 
 through the landdrost the thanks of his Excellency the
 
 165 
 
 Governor and Commander-in-Chief, General Craig. 
 The address closed with these words, — ' Heaven crown 
 your gray hairs with the reward of those who, with a 
 good conscience, can change temporal with future life." 
 
 There are many interesting episodes connected with 
 the arrival of the first English garrison under Major 
 King at Stellenbosch, too numerous for this memoir. I 
 find that on the 20th December, 1798, the landdrost 
 received information from the field-cornet of Little 
 Namaqualand "that the Hottentots there were turbulent 
 and had assembled in large bodies, and had captured five 
 farms, murdered one man, taken twenty muskets, and 
 carried off a number of cattle." It was resolved by the 
 heemraden unanimously to dispatch immediate orders 
 to the field-cornet, Van der Westhuyzen, to call upon the 
 inhabitants of Namaqualand to,render assistance to those 
 of Little Namaqualand. The deliberations of the board 
 display a degree of prudence and caution to prevent all 
 cruelty which would do honour to real philanthropists ; 
 their directions were to endeavour by kind means and 
 applications to make peace and effect the return of the 
 stolen property ; in case of failure to oppose force to 
 force, but to keep always in mind that the marauders 
 were human beings. Their proceedings were approved 
 by the governor, who directed that no violence should 
 be committed against the Hottentots except in self- 
 defence, but that attempts should be made to find the 
 murderer, one Hendrik Stevens, and to cause the resti- 
 tution of the stolen arms and cattle. 
 
 The result of this commando was reported to the 
 Governor-General Dundas. It had had the desired effect ; 
 the Hottentots were again quiet, no one had been shot.
 
 166 
 
 nor had any violence been exercised, and only one 
 person, Gerrit Owies, who had imprudently parted from 
 the commando, was killed, not by a Hottentot, but 
 treacherously by a Bushman with an arrow. Part of 
 the stolen cattle and muskets was recovered, but tlie 
 chief disturbers had retired to the Great or Orange 
 River, and scarcity of grass and weakness of the horses 
 had prevented further pursuit. 
 
 It was natural to expect that tranquillity had been 
 restored in that part of the colony, but only thirteen 
 days later a report was received from the field-cornet of 
 Hantam, Mr. J. A. van Wyk, that a certain Captain 
 Afrikander (the same mentioned in my travels) had 
 murdered the son of a colonist, Hermanns Engelbrecht, 
 and a Hottentot named Titus, carried off cattle and 
 plundered wagons. 
 
 This Afrikander was described by the field-cornet as a 
 murderer, who disturbed that country with a band of 
 one hundred men ; and that he had proceeded to the 
 Groote River, taking with him three thousand seven 
 hundred sheep and goats, four hundred and forty-six 
 head of cattle, eight horses and three muskets and other 
 stolen property, besides two wagons. This being re- 
 ported to the governor, authority was received to 
 raise a commando and proceed against these marauders, 
 the details being left to the arrangements of the landdrost* 
 
 Before the result of this expedition could be learned, 
 a letter and an important proclamation from the gover- 
 nor were received, relative to public disturbances at 
 Graaff-Reinet. His Excellency described them as tumul- 
 tuous commotions which had compelled him to direct 
 General Vandeleur to march to that rebellious district. 

 
 167 
 
 with a sufficient force, to afford to the well-disposed 
 inhabitants his Majesty's protection, and to secure the 
 leaders of those who had actually armed themselves 
 against their lawful Sovereign ; twenty of whom were 
 brought to Cape Town by his Majesty's ship Rattlesnake. 
 
 The governor further communicated the result of his 
 inquiries and the measures he had adopted and intended 
 for the future to use to restore tranquillity, adding that 
 he relied on the good care and influence of the authori- 
 ties of this place (Stellenbosch) to prevent the necessity 
 of stringent measures ; he also transmitted the procla- 
 mation, dated 20th June, 1799, under his hand and 
 seal, and these documents were published by landdrost 
 and heemraden from the court-room. 
 
 The public peace, by these and other measures having 
 been preserved in the village and district in the midst 
 of so many alarming circumstances, Governor Dundas 
 apprised the authorities of his intention to proceed in 
 person to watch the movements of the vagrant Kafirs, 
 and that Brigadier-General Fraser would meanwhile 
 assume the command. In another letter he refers to the 
 possibility that the insurrection of the Hottentots on the 
 frontier would extend to those in the adjacent districts, 
 and directs the measures which should be provisionally 
 adopted. Both these letters of 7th and 8th August 
 would be worth publishing ; they mark uncommon readi- 
 ness, prudence, and bravery in the character of this officer, 
 and are honourable proofs that the governor was a man 
 of undaunted faithfulness in the execution of the duties 
 with which he was intrusted. 
 
 We cannot but respect the man who, in the hour of 
 need and imminent danger, voluntarily exposes himself
 
 168 
 
 personally to all the trouble and peril which attended 
 these expeditions. 
 
 This appears the more evident from a letter of the 
 landdrost of Swellendam, Mr. Anthony Alexander Faure, 
 communicating to the board of landdrost and heemraden 
 that he had been oblio-ed to order all the inhabitants of 
 his district (kolonie) to proceed to the distant parts of 
 the settlement, in order to oppose the attacks of the 
 Kafirs and Hottentots, and to disperse them ; and he 
 pointed out the necessity of writing to the field-cornets 
 of Roodezand (Tulbagh), Breede, Hex River, and Bok- 
 keveld to prepare and keep themselves in readiness to 
 advance forthwith, on the receipt of the governor's 
 order, for the protection of the interior. 
 
 A note was added to Mr. Faure's letter, stating that 
 a melancholy report had been received that, at Swart- 
 kops River on the place of the Widow Scheepers, where 
 several families had assembled, fifty whites were mur- 
 dered only two hours distant from where the general and 
 his Majesty's troops were encamped. Communication 
 with the general appeared to have been cut off, and the 
 enemy, according to intelligence from Olifant's River, 
 had taken possession of the country as far as Van der 
 Waldt's, which was the last farm. Here, however, Van 
 der Waldt resisted their further progress by a commando, 
 and at Graaff-Reinet they were kept back by the people 
 of Sneeuwberg and Zuureveld, the inhabitants of which 
 last place had fled for safety to Graaff"-Reinet. 
 
 According to a letter from government of 16th 
 August, 1799, the disturbances on the frontier had 
 increased ; several families had been overpowered, 
 robbed, and murdered, and a commando was therefore
 
 169 
 
 ordered from Stellenboscli, to which the following- 
 officers were appointed : 
 
 Johan Gerhard Cloete, captain-commandant. 
 
 Dirk Cloete, captain-lieutenant. 
 
 Douswe Steyn, first lieutenant. 
 
 Philip Meyburg, second lieutenant. . 
 
 Marthinus Theunissen, third lieutenant and adjutant, 
 and a commissary, Captain Kebourg, formerly of the 
 regiment of Muiron, and two surgeons were added. 
 
 Their departure created a great sensation and affliction 
 in the village ; public prayers were offered in church for 
 their safety and success, and my father took his text from 
 Jeremiah xviii, 5 — 10. Posterity can hardly imagine 
 the painful position of the inhabitants in these times. 
 
 In 1800, the inhabitants of Roggeveld were kept in 
 a state of continual alarm by iVfrikander and the banditti, 
 his followers, and a squadron of dragoons was ordered 
 to be stationed between Cape Town and the Karoo, for 
 the protection of the inhabitants. 
 
 In December, 1801, a report was received from field- 
 cornet Jacob Kruger, of a cruel murder committed on 
 a burgher, Floris Langman, his wife and three children 
 and five or six of his domestics ; and from the field-cornet 
 of Cederbergen intelligence was also received that the 
 Hottentots were refusing to take service and preparing 
 to congregate with arms as far as behind Hantam. This 
 being reported to the lieutenant-governor, Dundas, he 
 promptly authorized a commando to pursue the mur- 
 derers, but recommended cautious treatment and forbear- 
 ance to be shown to the Hottentots, so as not to cause 
 aversion by uncalled-for severity and to make them 
 dangerous enemies instead of useful servants.
 
 170 
 
 Scarcely had this letter arrived when the landdrost 
 received a communication from the field-cornet of Rogge- 
 veld, Gerrit Maritz, stating that an aged farmer, Cornelis 
 Coetzee, had been murdered by his own slaves and 
 Hottentots, together with his two sons and a butcher, 
 Fredrik Wemer, and his servant, Frans Scherpenaard. 
 The house had been plundered and the money witli a 
 wagon and oxen taken, and also that the wife of one of 
 Coetzee's sons was missing. 
 
 The field-cornet reported that he had with a commando 
 immediately followed in pursuit and captured the 
 greater part of tlie murderers. In the meanwhile, the 
 expedition to the Beriquas or Boshuanahs, of which I 
 gave already an account in former sections, was dis- 
 patched. 
 
 The only document relative to the condition of that 
 part of the country to be found in the records is a 
 report of Field-cornet Jacob Kruger, stating that the 
 marauding party was still about sixty-eight strong, 
 some armed with muskets. In May, 1802, there was 
 still a detachment of dragoons retained at Stellenbosch 
 for protection, but they were then recalled. 
 
 In August, 1802, after the peace of Amiens, orders 
 were received to have a proportion of the government 
 supply of wheat delivered at the government magazine, 
 for the use of the British and the expected Butavian 
 troops, as it appeared from a placaat that peace had 
 been concluded in Europe, and that the colony was to 
 be restored to the Dutch. 
 
 On the 13th November, 1802, a government official 
 notification stated that his Excellency the Governor was 
 grieved by the progress made by Kafirs and viigrants,
 
 171 
 
 who had penetrnted in the woods about Plettenberg's 
 Bay, and that a commando had been ordered to assemble 
 on the 20th December, at Wolvenfontein, under 
 Commandant P. R. Botha. The outlying districts were 
 evidently as yet in a disturbed state. 
 
 My father, from whose journal I have made the above 
 extracts, closes on the 24th January, 1829, with the 
 following remarks: "Happy, my contemporaries and 
 fellow-citizens, are we, that in so many respects we enjoy 
 more peaceable times, and may now cherish the 
 hope that the conflicting ideas of the inhabitants of 
 this colony of the older stock and those of the recent 
 settlers will more and more become reconciled by nature 
 and forbearance, and by toleration of those opinions 
 which difference of education, interest, and degrees of 
 local knowledge created in former days, and which dis- 
 turbed this settlement, formed for abundance, unity, and 
 peaceful happiness, so that from month to month it 
 existed only under hopes and fears. 
 
 " This internal opposition of thoughts, inclinations, 
 and objects being considered and taken as the most 
 fruitful sources of evil and misfortune, it is really sur- 
 prising, and demands our gratitude to God and man, 
 that at that time no greater calamities visited the 
 colony." 
 
 And now we gradually proceed to the close of the 
 first period of British administration. The village and 
 vicinity were evidently in a prosperous state, many 
 houses had been built, religious worship had found 
 under the British the same protection as it had for about 
 a century before under the Dutch ; and infidelity which 
 hiv\ gained ground in Europe, and had obscurely crept
 
 172 
 
 in here, found a deep-rooted opposition in the settled 
 position of our Christian church, — a dyke which could 
 not be overpowered. The regular attendance at church 
 in the village and elsewhere on every first day of the 
 week, the separate assemblies under the name of oeffe- 
 ningen (meetings), however differing in method, operated 
 jointly to effect the same object and to divert from this 
 country the corrupt stream which shows itself, however 
 distant, all-destructive. 
 
 In the year 1799, a printing press had been estab- 
 lished, previous to which, and for a hundred and forty- 
 seven years, all laws and proclamations had been written 
 by the pen. The first government notification of the 
 permission to print, granted to Messrs. Walker and 
 Robertson, is dated 21st July, 1800. 
 
 The first proclamation stating the restitution of the 
 colony to the Dutch, issued by Lieutenant-Governor 
 Dundas is dated 27th August, 1802. As stated before, 
 the sensation it created was great, as those who have 
 attentively observed the effect of hope and fear can 
 easily imagine ; but it was not until the 20th of 
 February, 1803, that the announcement was formally 
 made that on the 21st actual possession would be given 
 to the Batavian Republic, according to the third article 
 of the treaty of peace closed at Amiens on the 27tli 
 March, 1802, and all the inhabitants of whatever rank 
 or station (not being British subjects) were relieved 
 from the oath of allegiance taken in favour of his 
 Britannic Majesty, and returned to the subjection of 
 the Batavian Government. The first proclamation signed 
 by the Dutch Governor, Commissary-General J. A, de 
 Mist, was dated Ist March, 1803.
 
 173 
 
 The Commissary-General had been meanwhile in- 
 formed that the country inhabitants had been patrolling 
 in armed bodies from fear and apprehension of the 
 Hottentots, And when the landdrost and heemraden 
 of Stellenbosch were in town on the 25th December, 
 1802, the commissary requested them to explain to the 
 inhabitants that he considered that such conduct invited 
 danger where it did not previously exist, and might be 
 the means of embittering the minds of inoffensive people, 
 who considered themselves as the objects aimed at by 
 such armed patrols, and thus also create disturbance. 
 He further stated that until the settlement had actually 
 been delivered up to the Batavian Government, he could 
 only admonish, advise, and request ; he therefore ex- 
 horted them as their friend and protector, and requested 
 them as his fellow-citizens, who would ere long be under 
 the administration of the Batavian Government, that 
 they should not under a mere apprehension of danger 
 allow themselves to be disturbed, and by untimely and 
 irregular means of defence cause calamities which it 
 would not be in his power to prevent, and the conse- 
 quences of which could not be calculated. 
 
 He further assured them that the peace and pros- 
 perity of the inhabitants of the country and of Cape 
 Town would be cordially attended to when the settlement 
 had been delivered over to him and the commander-in- 
 chief, and that measures would be adopted to ease their 
 minds with regard to the assembled natives, or dreaded 
 insults of single or combined persons; and he trusted this 
 explanation and assurance would have a beneficial effect. 
 But a circumstance occurred, which unexpectedly 
 suspended the })roceedings for the cession of the
 
 174 
 
 settlement. General Janssens, the governor, and Com- 
 missary-General de Mist had been received in the most 
 friendly manner by General Dundas, who immediately 
 resigned to them the governor s residence situated in the 
 castle, himself residing in the garden house till all was 
 ready for embarkation. A large quantity of stores, it 
 was also arranged, were to be taken over by the Dutch 
 at a mutual valuation. This being concluded, the British 
 troops were embarked, and a day was named for all to 
 be on board. This was the 1st January, 1803. Every- 
 thing seemed settled, when on the day before that 
 appointed, an English frigate arrived in Table Bay. 
 I happened to be in town and saw her coming to anchor. 
 The captain landed and sent the boat back to the ship ; 
 he looked very mysterious and answered no questions, 
 but desired to be brought immediately to General Dun- 
 das to deliver dispatches. The British general and 
 admiral met in consultation, shortly after which it was 
 observed that the latter hastened on board. 
 
 An order- had hee7i received on no account to give up 
 the Cape. 
 
 The position was awkward ; the Dutch had five 
 thousand men, with all their accoutrements, landed 
 and lodged in the barracks, and the same number of 
 the English had embarked on board the ships in 
 the bay. 
 
 The English troops were quietly landed, and a bustle 
 was heard in the court-yard, the grounding of arms, &c. 
 The Dutch general was naturally surprised, when 
 General Dundas, being in the castle, sent to General 
 Jassens to ask an interview ; explanations ensued ; the 
 admiral (Sir Roger Curtis) was also present. He and
 
 175 
 
 General Dundas with General Janssens and Commis- 
 sary-General de Mist came very cordially to the following 
 agreement. 
 
 That in ordei* to prevent any collision between the 
 Dutch troops and tlie English, the former should 
 remove some three or four miles into cantonments in the 
 pleasant plains of Wynberg, and the English be held 
 in readiness to embark immediately on counter orders 
 being received from home, for which purpose a part was 
 to be kept in the castle, and the rest in the barracks ; 
 an arrangement which was at once agreed to and 
 carried into effect. This was certainly a painful suspense 
 to both parties. 
 
 In February, however, orders were received from 
 home to deliver up the Cape to the officers of the 
 Batavian Repubhc. The British troops were immedi- 
 ately put in preparation for embarking, and the admiral 
 was busily engaged in allotting ships and berths for the 
 civilians, and the announcement above mentioned that 
 the Cape was to be taken possession of on the 21st of 
 February, 1 803, by the Batavian Government, made its 
 appearance. 
 
 Here I am now on the point of leaving my parental 
 roof to join the civil service in Cape Town for the 
 future — that parental roof where I spent so many happy 
 days. And now I will communicate some personal 
 observations with respect to the place, its inhabitants, 
 and such other subjects as may appear to me of interest.
 
 176 
 
 SECTION VIII. 
 I WILL now proceed to endeavour to describe the 
 
 OLD PARSONAGE AT STELLENBOSCH. 
 
 It was situated in the main street leading to the Drostdy, 
 about seven houses lower down. In front was half an 
 acre of garden ground planted with vines and beautiful 
 fruit trees, and enclosed by a wall six feet high, with 
 a large green gate between two pillars opposite the 
 entrance to the parsonage ; and in one of the angles 
 of the premises were a roomy stable, coach-house, and 
 cow-shed. 
 
 The parsonage was conveniently built ; two moderate- 
 sized rooms and an entrance-hall in front, a dining-hall 
 behind, two bedrooms and a spare-room, kitchen, pan- 
 try, and spacious loft ; there were, besides a roomy fowl- 
 yard and three fowl and pigeon-houses and a pig-sty ; 
 two rooms for servants and outer store, and a large 
 wine-cellar and woodhouse. 
 
 Behind the house was a garden and vineyard, divided 
 by a main walk of myrtle and smaller paths ; along the 
 broader walks were fruit-trees, such as varieties of the 
 apple, pear, medlar, apricot, almond, plum, fig, and other 
 fruit. The garden was fenced on one side by a quince 
 hedge, and on the other by a lawn with large oak trees, 
 and terminated on the banks of that clear brook, the 
 Eerste River, along which small bathing places were 
 made for our recreation. The abundance of fruit in the 
 garden at my disposal gave me often an opportunity 
 of treating my young companions; and several beehives 
 supplied us with beautiful honey.
 
 177 
 
 All this perhaps will appear trivial to the reader, but 
 my object is to give an idea of the comforts provided in 
 " the olden times " for a country clergyman by a gener- 
 ous congregation, w^ith the view of enabling him to 
 subsist in decency upon something more than the small 
 stipend of 1,000 guilders, or £75 per annum, which he 
 drew from the public treasury ; and this good feeling 
 did not confine itself to the mere parsonage itself, for 
 some of the church members provided the pastors 
 household amply with vegetables and other produce of 
 their farms, so that he and his family always enjoyed a 
 share of comfort and could maintain the conventional 
 appearances of respectability. 
 
 Thus having around us all that moderate competency 
 required, I witnessed contentment in our family, even 
 from my youth ; and whilst the pressure of care was 
 unknown, we enjoyed all that could be desired in the 
 social station of unobtrusive life. 
 
 My father was religious and strict in the performance 
 of his duties. Much of his time was given to study and 
 reading, and his relaxation confined itself to the garden 
 and occasionally to a little sport, but merely for the sake 
 of recreation. He was an admirer of nature, and the 
 starry heaven often occupied his meditations. Cheerful 
 in disposition and instructive in narrative, in pos- 
 session of qualities adapted to attract social intercourse, 
 he was sought not only by the villagers but by stran- 
 gers frequenting his neighbourhood : in return he often 
 visited the sick, the infirm, and his parishioners. The 
 latter, indeed, would constantly send their vehicle to 
 convey him to their homes. 
 
 N
 
 178 
 
 My mother was kind-hearted and cheerful ; her 
 domestic arrangements were marked by good sense and 
 judgment, with love and attention to the children, and 
 regard to the comforts of those belonging to the house- 
 hold. The stranger or village visitor met always a 
 welcome and pleasing countenance. The happiness of 
 all about her was her blessing, — that of her husband 
 her chief aim and study. 
 
 The result of such examples was contentment in the 
 family, reciprocal love and obedience; no force was 
 needed to exact the performance of any duty. Love 
 was the groundwork upon which this domestic edifice 
 was raised, and happiness around was the fruit of such 
 christian-like principles. 
 
 The family generally rose early, and were called to 
 morning prayers, offered up by the head of the family ; 
 about sunrise the labourers proceeded to their duties in 
 the garden, and left off at sunset, being relieved by 
 intermediate hours of rest for breakfast and dinner 
 similarly to the family ; and in the evening the labourers, 
 who then mostly consisted of slaves, indulged in gossip 
 in their own quarters or listened to the music of the 
 ramakienjo (an instrument with three strings stretched 
 over a calabash, which acted like a sounding board) 
 on which one of them was generally expert, enjoying 
 their supper around a fire ; the children were, under the 
 eye of the mama, usually occupied during the evening 
 with their lessons, whilst the paterfamilias was engaged 
 in his study. About nine o'clock supper was announced, 
 the family assembled round the table, and then we had the 
 benefit of listening to interesting and useful information
 
 179 
 
 collected in the study-room and delivered with 
 appropriate remarks and observations; or sometimes the 
 conversation reverted to the dear Fatherland and the 
 earlier days there spent. After this, prayer and thanks- 
 giving were offered, and the little family retired with 
 the parental kiss and wish for a good night's repose and 
 a recommendation not to neglect prayers. 
 
 The Sabbath was the day of rest. The family 
 dressed for church, and about an hour before service 
 wagons and vehicles of different sorts were to be seen 
 coming to the village with well and decently-dressed 
 families, and gradually the villagers in their best attire 
 were seen moving to the house of God. Men and 
 women sat separately in church, some according to their 
 respective ranks, the one in pews the others on chairs. 
 The landdrost and heemraden, and ministers family and 
 chui'chwardens occupied pews distinguished by promi- 
 nent boards above their seats. The pulpit was so 
 placed as to command a sight of the whole congregation ; 
 the organ stood opposite, supported by a gallery, in the 
 midst of which were beautifully painted, in oil, figures 
 expressive of Love, Hope, and Charity. 
 
 Previously to the minister ascending the pulpit and 
 between the rinoino; of the second and third bells the 
 Dominie, or parish clerk, read chapters out of the Bible, 
 and usually also the one from which the text was to be 
 taken. He also published banns, and named the mem- 
 bers who were desirous of moving to other parishes, if 
 any, and had applied for certificates of membership, 
 and when the ringing of the third bell had ceased he 
 gave out the psalm or hymn to be sung by the congre- 
 gation, with the time, leading the singing and accom- 
 panied by the organ, 
 
 N 2
 
 180 
 
 Meanwhile, the minister, having said his prayer on 
 the steps ot'tlie pulpit ascended, and when the singing 
 had ceased, a short prayer opened the proceedings and a 
 blessing was invoked upon the congregation. Next an 
 introductory discourse was delivered, taken from some 
 text. A prayer was offered up to the Lord, in which 
 those present silently joined, the men usually standing 
 holding their hats before their faces or with closed eyes ; 
 the women sitting with their fans open and covering their 
 countenances ; psalms or hymns were then again sung, 
 and the minister, having read the text, expounded the 
 doctrine therein contained, and closed the sermon with 
 appropriate remarks applicable to the circumstances of 
 his auditory, and after a brief and comprehensive 
 sermon the service was closed. In the interval after the 
 minister had communicated the division of his subject, 
 •and before the explanation, two of the deacons were 
 called upon to collect for the poor and church purposes, 
 a velvet bag, to which was suspended a little silver bell 
 with a tassel below it, fixed to a lono; black staff was 
 held upright on each side of the pulpit, whilst the 
 pastor recommended charity ; it was then presented for 
 the reception of donations to each of the congregation 
 individually. It was considered a sacred duty, and 
 even children never neglected to drop their mite into 
 these bags. The minister after the recommendation 
 proceeded with the delivery of the sermon. Thus were 
 the ordinary church funds collected, and when extra 
 expences were required a special subscription was 
 raised for the occasion. At present, the custom of 
 collecting in bags has become obsolete, and collections 
 are now made in boxes placed for the purpose at the 
 entrance doors. When the sermon was finished persons
 
 181 
 
 wishing to have their children baptized were called upon 
 to appear before the pulpit to hear the ministration of bap- 
 tism ; this being read and the promises thereby required 
 being made by the sponsors, the name of the child was 
 handed to the minister, either by father, mother, or 
 sponsor, and it was baptized by sprinkling water on the 
 forehead in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, 
 
 This ceremony being performed, parties wishing to 
 be married were next requested to appear ; the service 
 for the solemnization of marriage having been performed 
 the solemnization was concluded by bridegroom and 
 bride giving to one another their respective right hands, 
 and whilst mutually holding them, affirming the obliga- 
 tions read, when they received the confirmation and 
 blessing of the pastor. The newly married having retired 
 to their seats, prayers and thanksgiving were offered to 
 the Almighty for the sick and afflicted, for the baptized, 
 the married, the widows and orphans, the authorities, 
 the aged and infirm, and all in need were entreated for 
 succour and mercy ; and this last prayer was usually 
 closed with the Lord's prayer. After this a psalm or 
 hymn was sung, during which the happy couples retired 
 arm in arm and left the church ; then the final bene- 
 diction to the congregation ; who thereupon dispersed. 
 The vehicles of some of the congregation stood before 
 the church doors ready to convey them home ; others 
 remained for the afternoon, in order that their children 
 should be catechized by the parson and prepared for 
 confirmation ; the catechizing was public in the church, 
 to which adults were also admitted. 
 
 After church, the collections were handed over to the 
 deacon-cashier to be disposed of by the church wardens*
 
 182 
 
 I fancy I now see them walking down the street with 
 their minister, who usually held his black silk mantle 
 over his left arm between them. The churchwardens 
 were always neatly dressed in black, with white cravats, 
 and, in former da^^s wore wigs and small three-cornered 
 hats. Occasionally some of them or their families stayed 
 at the parsonage and partook of the plain family repast. 
 For many years there was also a service in the week in 
 church on Wednesday evening. 
 
 Though some of the slaves in and about the village 
 
 were in the habit of spending their Sabbath in working 
 
 in their gardens or in other labour, yet there were at 
 
 Stellenbosch several who attended a meeting held for 
 
 their instruction in the afternoon or evening of each 
 
 Sunday, by a Mr. Johan Nicolaas Desch, who lived in 
 
 the house in Green-square, now occupied by the English 
 
 minister. I saw them there in 1798 and 1799. They 
 
 were also admitted in church, and some regularly attended 
 
 service. The coloured people had their seats apart from 
 
 the rest of the congregation, and alongside of the pulpit. 
 
 The form of confirmation of church members is 
 
 simply this : when a person considers himself qualified 
 
 he applies for admission as a member to the minister, 
 
 who convenes a meeting of applicants usually before 
 
 the quarterly sacrament day. The candidates are then 
 
 examined in the presence of one of the elders, and when 
 
 found admissible, adopted into the communion of the 
 
 church, and their names registered in the book of church 
 
 members. Adults desirous of being members were also 
 
 thus examined, and afterwards, if necessary, baptized • 
 
 heathens complying with the same forms thus attained 
 
 admission into the church.
 
 183 
 
 The minister was formerly appointed by Government, 
 but is at present elected by the churchwardens and 
 proposed to Government; the churchwardens were 
 elected by the board, two deacons and one elder annually 
 vacated their seats, others were then nominated to the 
 vacancies, and, after their names had been announced 
 three Sundays in church and no objection raised, they 
 were on the last Sunday in the year presented to the 
 congregation before the pulpit, according to the form 
 prescribed. 
 
 A certain number of poor children, under the super- 
 vision of the churchwardens in each parish, and named 
 diaconys kinderen, are educated and clothed from the 
 church funds, from which source provision is also made 
 for the aged and infirm members. 
 
 Having thus far treated of^the church and parsonage 
 and clerical establishment of Stellenbosch, I will now 
 attempt to describe the Drostdy House and Public 
 Buildings, and the functionaries employed in former 
 days. 
 
 The Drostdy House at Stellenbosch was formerly 
 the residence allowed by Government to the landdrost, 
 as chief magistrate of the district. This building, which 
 was subsequently sold, and is now the Theological 
 Seminary, stands on a terrace about ten feet above the 
 ground, and about one hundred feet in length, with 
 several rows of large stone steps ; it is lofty, but under 
 thatch, with a wooden framework over the coping of the 
 front wall, at the foot of the thatch ; before the building 
 stood two large oaks, sixty or seventy feet high, of 
 which one remains, planted probably in 1712 ; a wall 
 of about one hundred and fifty feet ran on each side,
 
 184 
 
 enclosing the yard. On the right of the residence, on 
 entering the front door, was a court-room about forty 
 feet in length, and on the left were two very lofty 
 rooms ; at the rear was a dining-hall, besides several 
 bed-rooms, with kitchen, store-room, &c. The back 
 premises consisted of stables capable of containing thirty 
 or forty horses, coach-house, forage-loft, and several 
 rooms for servants. Behind the building grew beautiful 
 oaks, facing a fine enclosed orchard ; to its right was a 
 lawn about three hundred yards long, and dotted with 
 oaks, leading to the menagerie, and extensive gardens 
 and corn-fields, sufficiently large to grow forage for 
 eight , or ten horses : the whole premises are abun- 
 dantly supplied with water from the Eerste River. 
 Facing the building is a fine broad street, adorned with 
 lofty oaks, in which at about two hundred yards stands 
 the church. A neat and comfortable family mansion, 
 formerly the property of the heemraad, the late Mr. J. 
 C. Faure, terminates the perspective. To the left are 
 the public prison and police establishment ; and opposite, 
 the houses and gardens formerly allowed to the secretary, 
 messenger, parish clerk, and schoolmaster. 
 
 I record these particulars to preserve in memory the 
 former establishment, already gradually changing, 
 and to sliow how the chief authorities were provided 
 with respectable and well-appointed residences, with a 
 view to secure their independence, and to keep them 
 out of debt by saving them from the expense of pur- 
 chasing or hiring inferior residences on entering office 
 out of their small stipends, — the landdrost, in particular, 
 as representing Government, and holding a position 
 something similar to a lord-lieutenant of a county in
 
 185 
 
 England, required such additional aid. It was expected 
 when the governor or chief functionaries or strangers 
 of note visited the village that they should be entertained 
 by the landdrost, — and he had an extra allowance to 
 meet these expenses in addition to his salary. 
 
 In order to give an idea of the duties imposed on a 
 landdrost, now merged partially in those of the civil 
 commissioner of a division, I shall subjoin an outline 
 of the multifarious routine of the duties imposed on him, 
 to show his position. Perhaps some of our posterity 
 may take an interest in knowing something of our 
 original institutions. 
 
 The landdrost represented the Government in all 
 matters connected with his office. He was assisted by as 
 many resident burghers and inhabitants, named heem- 
 raden, as the Governor might think necessary, and they 
 constituted with him a board, assisted by a secretary. 
 He was to maintain the authority of Government, pro- 
 tect persons and property, attend to education, treat the 
 aborigines as free people, promote their civilization and 
 see that they received justice, and was to prevent aggres- 
 sion, yet be prepared for defence ; no violence whatever 
 was to be used against the indigenous tribes, except in 
 defence. He was to encourage agriculture in its various 
 branches, and promote it by counsel and support, 
 especially the conversion of the Cape into wool-growing 
 sheep ; to urge the planting of trees and improvement 
 of agricultural implements; to examine grants of lands; 
 to register all farms and erven ; to receive land-rent ; and 
 to protect the sea-coast and the wrecks in his division. 
 
 Further, he acted as public prosecutor, and had 
 charge and superintendence of the police, and " as long
 
 186 
 
 as the use of slaves in the colony should not be aban- 
 doned, the landdrost was to consider it amongst his 
 most sacred duties to watch for the protection of those 
 unfortunate beings; he was to judge between master and 
 slave." (Instructions in 1805.) 
 
 He was expected to watch over the undisturbed 
 exercise of public worship, and encourage attendance in 
 church, and respect for religion by example ; and with 
 regard to the missionaries he had to observe certain 
 proclamations and letter of Commissary-General de 
 Mist. In case of absence he was succeeded by the 
 heemraad who was annually elected to act in that 
 emergency. 
 
 The board of landdrost and heemraden consisted of 
 the landdrost, as president, and six resident notable 
 burghers and inhabitants. Two of the heemraden, the 
 seniors, retired annually, and four were nominated for 
 the vacancies, out of whom the Governor elected the 
 two new members. At Stellenbosch, the board met on 
 the first Monday of every month. The heemraden were 
 subject to a fine of five rixdollars for non-attendance. 
 The landdrost, with two heemraden, constituted, since 
 September, 1804, a matrimonial court. Heemraden 
 were also expected to be attentive to the principles laid 
 down in the landdrost's instructions, and with him to 
 display exactness and economy in the administration of 
 the revenue and expenditure of the district. 
 
 The revenue was raised from capitation and other 
 taxes on stock and produce, under the name of opgaaf, 
 general contributions, proceeds of mills, kloofs, tolls, 
 poundage, and the like, fines and penalties, and sundry 
 other receipts.
 
 187 
 
 The expenditure was civil salaries, costs of criminal 
 prosecutions, inquests, repairs of buildings, fire-engines, 
 ferry-boats, &c., repairs of passes, roads, watercourses, 
 fees for attendance of landdrost and heemraden on extra 
 duties, and sundry other expenses. 
 
 The matters subject to the jurisdiction of the board 
 were mainly confined, in civil matters, to disputes relative 
 to lands and boundaries, and for the recovery of sums 
 not exceeding three hundred rixdollars in vendue claims ; 
 there was a higher jurisdiction, subject to appeal. By 
 rules in force, impartiality as much as possible was 
 secured. 
 
 A criminal jurisdiction was afterwards authorised, to 
 a certain extent, by the Instructions for Crown Trials of 
 1819; besides the power granted originally to take 
 preliminary examinations, the board held inquests, 
 regulated the assizing of weights and measures, and had 
 superintendence over the fire engines ; they could exact 
 an oath to verify the statement for collecting taxes 
 (opgaaf), and two heemraden inspected the prison 
 monthly ; they were to receive no gifts, even of meat 
 or drink, from litigants. 
 
 The secretary attended the meetings of the board or 
 its commissioners, and recorded all proceedings; he was 
 exclusively the district notary and vendue-master. 
 
 The district was divided into subdivisions or field- 
 cornetcies, and, on the recommendation of the landdrost, 
 Government appointed those very useful officers, the 
 field-cornets, to each ward, — and these were guided by 
 special instructions, which may be seen in the ordinance 
 for the administration of country districts of October, 
 1805, drawn by the late Sir John Truter, when Secretary
 
 188 
 
 to Government ; they were considered as his chef 
 doeuvves. 
 
 A messenger was also appointed by Government, on 
 the recommendation of the landdrost, under a salary of 
 three hundred rixdoUars, free lodging, and allowance of 
 fees ; and the landdrost had, besides, for his assistance 
 a chief constable, six policemen, and six inferior atten- 
 dants, popularly known as " Kafirs." 
 
 I fear I have been rather prolix in much of what I have 
 stated in this as well as in some preceding chapters, but 
 as many of the above details are not generally understood 
 or known, I considered it desirable to record them, bear- 
 ing in mind, moreover, that I am delineating the 
 manners, customs, and forms of a past generation, whose 
 actions would be not without interest to some of my 
 readers, and will, perhaps, constitute the object of 
 inquiry to some future colonial antiquary. 
 
 I cherish a respect for that extinct body, the board 
 of landdrost and heemraden of Stellenbosch, for it was 
 not only from it that I received my first appointment 
 and introduction into the service in January, 1801 ; but, 
 as its secretary for upwards of three years, I witnessed 
 and assisted in its proceedings, and had an opportunity 
 of estimating its value in the country districts. 
 
 I will now attempt to depict a meeting of the board. 
 On the first Monday of the month, the first official 
 attendant who presented himself to sight at the drostdy 
 was the messenger, dressed in black, with a silver shield, 
 blazoned with a lion on a red field, suspended by a 
 chain and hanging on the left side of his breast, preparing 
 the court-room, and afterwards walking on the stoep in 
 front of the drostdy-house. Next arrived the secretary,
 
 189 
 
 with his portfolio and papers, attended by one of his 
 clerks, a quarter of an hour before the board attended. 
 The heemraden followed successively, dressed generally 
 in black, and when assembled, with the landdrost pre- 
 siding, the large village bell beside the Drostdy-house 
 was tolled for some minutes, whilst the national flag was 
 hoisted, and the public assembled in the hall in front 
 of the court-room. 
 
 The board being assembled, the doors were closed 
 and prayers read by the secretary, and the minutes of 
 the preceding meeting confirmed and signed by all 
 present, — the landdrost rung the clear-sounding silver 
 bell, and the large folding doors were thrown open, and 
 litigants and others attracted by business or desirous to 
 communicate with the board on various matters 
 admitted. The president used to be seated in an arm- 
 chair at the upper end of a table covered with a suitable 
 green cloth, silver inkstands being used ; opposite him 
 sat the secretary, and on either side of the table sat the 
 heemraden. The business of the day began with the 
 civil suits. 
 
 The names of the parties were called in succession 
 by the messenger, according to the roll. Each case was 
 distinctly read by the secretary, and then heard ; those 
 requiring discussion and consideration were decided 
 with closed doors, but the judgment was pronounced in 
 public. The suits being finished, other matters connected 
 with the general administration of the district were 
 disposed of, the accounts examined, and the landdrost, 
 as cashier, authorized to pay those passed, and tlie 
 meeting usually closed by one or two o'clock ; the 
 sittings, I should have mentioned, generally commenced
 
 190 
 
 early, — at nine, sometimes at eight o'clock. Besides these 
 ordinary there were extra meetings of the board in 
 criminal proceedings, for collecting taxes, inspection of 
 lands, holding inquests, &c., for all which there were 
 fixed allowances paid, namely to the landdrost at the 
 rate of nine shillings, to heemraden each six, and 
 secretary three shillings per diem, under the name of 
 "vacatie." 
 
 Amongst the notables elected from time to time as 
 heemraden were the Van der Byls, Cloetes, Meyburgs, 
 de Villiers, du Toits, Marais, Hoffmans, Faures, 
 Herolds, Mosterds, de Waals, Neethlings, Wiums, 
 Morkels, and others whose names escape me ; they 
 were mostly men of influence and landed property, and 
 of the most respectable families. 
 
 The establishment of the matrimonial court in the 
 district by Mr. Commissary-General de Mist was of great 
 convenience. It was composed, as before mentioned, of 
 the landdrost, and two heemraden, assisted by the secretary. 
 One of the sections of the marriage ordinance enacted 
 that, after the publication of banns, the parties could 
 appear before the court and have the banns solemnized 
 according to the form prescribed by the rules of that 
 law. This was done on the first Sunday of every month 
 at twelve o'clock, in the court-room, by the secretary 
 reading the form in presence of the matrimonial court, 
 after first ringing the bells. Under this ceremony, the 
 marriage being considered as a civil contract, all was 
 done that the law deemed necessary to constitute a 
 lawful marriage, — leaving to the parties to have the 
 ceremony also performed, if so inclined, by a clergyman 
 in such manner as their respective religious persuasions 
 
 1
 
 191 
 
 required. But in 1806, Sir David Baird, by proclama- 
 tion, prohibited the matrimonial courts in Cape Town 
 and the country from performing the marriage ceremony 
 in future, and directed that all marriages in this settle- 
 ment, as was the case before Mr. de Mist's regulations 
 were issued, were to be performed by an ordained 
 clergyman. 
 
 For the convenience, however, of inhabitants in the 
 country districts the registry of marriages in the court 
 of heemraden, and marrying by clergymen in their cures 
 or parishes, were continued. 
 
 As happens sometimes even in Cape Town, some of 
 the young couples arriving from the country districts 
 were dependent for their outfits on the depots of the 
 village ; and ludicrous scenes frequently occurred. On 
 one occasion, a poor fellow, whose fingers were encased 
 in a pair of tight gloves, made his appearance before the 
 board. Utterly unaccustomed to their novel covering 
 his sturdy, coarse fingers, used to grasp the plough- 
 handle and the spade, now refused to serve their hapless 
 owner ; he had to produce the written consent of the 
 parents (generally written, with a due regard to economy, 
 on a very small bit of paper), and found his efforts to 
 grasp the scrap, which was stowed away in his pouch, 
 wholly fruitless, not being able to feel it through his 
 new cuticle. After a good deal of ineffective groping he 
 was fain to call for the assistance of his intended, the 
 fair bride, pointing to his several pockets, out of one of 
 which the good girl (I think I still see her blushes) at 
 last succeeded in abstracting the precious document, 
 with much excitement. I believe her maiden name Avas 
 " Grietje." Never did a pair leave the court witli more
 
 192 
 
 1^ 
 
 haste or under greater embarrassment. I was then the 
 secretary. 
 
 Another scene, rather pecuhar, happened also whilst 
 I was secretary. A rich old widow, upwards of sixty, 
 had engaged herself to an old gentleman of nearly the 
 same age ; they were, according to custom, to come to 
 the village to undergo the matrimonial ordeal. To our 
 surprise, one day we saw a fine horsewagon, in which 
 this brace of venerable turtles was seated, stopping in 
 front of the Drostdy, stripped of the sides of its cover 
 or tent, and the tails and manes of the horses closely 
 cut. This unusual trim roused our curiosity, especially 
 as the vehicle was followed by the little mob of the 
 village. The explanation was soon given ; bitter were 
 the complaints made against a certain relative of the 
 old lady, who, disappointed by her marriage in his expec- 
 tation of a handsome inheritance on her demise, was 
 strongl}' suspected to be the author of the mischief 
 which had been committed during the preceding 
 night. 
 
 The old lady having answered the usual questions, 
 appeared still in sorrow, but our kind-hearted president 
 having congratulated her on " the happy prospect in 
 expectation" (I scarcely think he meant heirs), could not 
 resist the temptation, or rather escape the civility, of 
 sealing the court's wishes with a kiss. This drew a 
 smile and complaisant courtesy, and the good aged 
 couple retired, seating themselves again in the wagon 
 amidst the gaze and satirical looks of those they passed. 
 
 Both the board of landdrost and heemraden and the 
 matrimonial court were recommended in cases of dispute 
 before them to do all in their power to effect an amicable
 
 193 
 
 settlement and prevent litigation ; so that they were in 
 many instances peace-makers and mediators. 
 
 Having thus-far confined myself to matters concerning- 
 tlie church and state of the district, I will now attempt 
 to give some sketch of the different classes of inhabi- 
 tants and others composing the community. 
 
 The first class, I mean those who possessed large 
 landed and other property and of some influence, lived 
 comparatively in ease and comfort, some indeed in 
 affluence; their estates and lands produced abundance, 
 for labour was sufficient, owing to the introduction of 
 slaves, who were obtained at very moderate prices ; and 
 their influence was considerable on account of their 
 property and connections. Their powers with regard 
 to their domestics were extensive, I might almost say 
 arbitrary ; and accustomed to command at pleasure, 
 they generally displayed in appearance and manners a 
 degree of self-confidence and independence correspon- 
 dent with the republican spirit of the mother country. 
 
 They were tenacious of rank and ambitious to b.. 
 elected as heemraden or militia officers or church 
 wardens, — offices which then conferred dignity. 
 
 The respective ranks of the officials were upheld 
 according to a scale of precedence established by 
 authority (ranglysten). When on duty, they were 
 respected in the exercise of their power. When ii. 
 church, they had their pews of distinction, and their wives 
 were seated according to the ranks of the husbands, 
 their chairs being arranged accordingly. The least 
 deviation by the sexton or any other inferior created a 
 sensation and provoked a rebuke ; so strictly were these 
 regulations respected, that even at funerals after the 
 
 o
 
 194 
 
 members of" the family had followed the deceased, each 
 individual present was called by name to follow in pro- 
 cession according to his rank in the " ranglyst." I have 
 been told of an instance where a man of some rank had 
 been rather late in his attendance, and the undertaker 
 had actually halted the funeral procession in order to 
 place him according to his rank in the corthge. 
 "* The funerals in the country were generally well 
 attended; relations, connections, and friends made it a 
 point, however distant their residence, to pay the last 
 tribute of respect to the remains of the deceased. Hence 
 a custom arose of preparing refreshment to be partaken 
 after burial, regard being had especially to the distant 
 travellers. This simple and well-meant custom at a later 
 period degenerated into a mere feasting. When the 
 mourners returned to the house of death, it was not 
 unusual to present them with a variety of cakes, amongst 
 these some in the shape of large loaves of bread named 
 " geraspfe brooden" rasped bread, smoked sausages, 
 olives, cold ham, old Rhenish and choice wines preserved 
 for the purpose, pipes, tobacco, and with the more 
 wealthy in such profusion that it was customary to take 
 a share of cakes home for the family (pour les enfanis). 
 The practice has long since ceased, and the attendants 
 at funerals retire from the grave to their homes after 
 receiving simply thanks for their attention, especially 
 those who aid to carry the coffin to and from the hearse. 
 These bearers, usually intimate friends, in former times 
 commonly received some donation, generally silver 
 money, as did the pall-bearers. 
 
 The general character of the colonists was marked by 
 hospitality. They were considered honest in the perform-
 
 195 
 
 ance of their engagements, so that in loans of money 
 the verbal promise and simplest acknowledgment on 
 paper were in many instances accepted on good faith 
 and considered a good security ; they were generous in 
 assisting one another either by becoming sureties or 
 giving credit, especially to young beginners and married 
 couples on commencing life. The customary way to 
 establish the young farmer was to purchase a farm, some- 
 times entirely on credit ; the parents then aided by a 
 gift of slaves or such other contribution as their means 
 afforded, and the majority who thus commenced their 
 career succeeded by industry and by sober and econom- 
 ical habits in redeeming their farms, so that at a more 
 advanced age they were clear of debt and possessed of 
 unincumbered property. I know myself of many such 
 instances. There were, however, many other instances 
 in which the struggle for a competency and livelihood was 
 attended with much care and exertion ; but though the 
 gain was scanty, the perseverance and submission to 
 circumstances were to be admired. 
 
 When they felt their rights injured, which was some- 
 times the case under the administration of the East 
 India Company, when their interest was in conflict with 
 that of the authority over them, they were resolute in 
 asserting them. The history of the colony under 
 Governor van der Stell and others will show their 
 representations of grievances to the Home Government. 
 
 In their families they generally imitated the patriarchal 
 form of government ; the word of command seriously 
 given by the parent was obeyed without murmur or 
 hesitation, and disciplinary directions met but seldom 
 with opposition. Families were, on the whole, generally 
 
 o 2
 
 196 
 
 numerous. Marnnge was considered a sacred union, 
 and as such maintained and respected. In their daily 
 costume the respectable inhabitants of the country and 
 village were plain but neat and clean, each regulating 
 his dress according to the seasons and weather; he thus 
 often escaped these maladies which a changeable climate 
 is apt to cause by unguarded exposure ; and this, 
 joined to early rising and sober meals and regular 
 habits, often produced instances of longevity. 
 
 In the morning early they drink a cup of coffee ; 
 about eight o'clock they partook of a moderate breakfast, 
 at which meat appeared, and in some families of French 
 descent light wines ; a solid dinner was provided at 
 twelve o'clock ; tea and sweetmeats followed at three 
 o'clock ; coffee and biscuit or bread and butter came in 
 towards evening, to which were sometimes added on the 
 farms fine fruit in season, such as water and musk 
 melons, grapes, &c., served neatly on a little table in 
 front of the house, a repast of which I have often 
 enjoyed. At eight o'clock in the evening supper was 
 served ; this usually constituted the family meal. After 
 dinner, however, the early rising in the morning induced 
 a gentle siesta. The mother of the family gave the tone 
 to the household, and in order that nothing might 
 escape observation, she was in the habit of sitting at a 
 small table, with a drawer for her keys, nic-nacs, &c., in 
 the back hall, whence she regulated the duties to be 
 performed by the daughters and female domestics. 
 Sometimes there stood before her a tea-pot and shining 
 kettle to serve those inclined with weak tea, which, in 
 some places, where the water was indifferent, was very 
 acceptable. It would have been deemed rude not to
 
 197 
 
 offer a cup to the visiting stranger. The " good wife' 
 was, moreover, usually the family scribe ; the internal 
 arrangement of the household was therefore considered 
 her department exclusively, and it was surprising to see 
 how well versed and clever some were in the perform- 
 ance of these domestic duties. As there were but few 
 medical practitioners in former days, those too often 
 living very distant, the mother of the family was usually 
 expert and consulted in cases of sickness or accident. 
 In order to be prepared she was in most houses provided 
 with medicines or remedies, composed partly from the 
 apothecary shop and partly from herbs of the country 
 known from experience to possess medical or healing 
 qualities. Great faith was placed in small boxes of medi- 
 cine prepared at Halle, in Germany, and known under the 
 name of Halsche medicynen/ In ordinary cases, and 
 before medical aid is called in, these remedies are 
 resorted to. They are known as huysmiddeltjes (domestic 
 medicines), and are sometimes applied with good success. 
 No respectable family was seen without the Bible in 
 its possession, some too with books of prayer or hymns, 
 which, with other religious books, were read with attention 
 and reverence. Some families owned a Flavins Josephus 
 and books of martyrology, and it was not unusual to hear in 
 some houses the singing of psalms and hymns before day- 
 light and in the evening before supper; at meals, prayer 
 and thanksgiving, either by the father, mother, one of the 
 children, or schoolmaster, was observed, and in some 
 families I cannot recollect to have seen it ever neglected ; 
 I know, when yet young, that religious instruction was 
 given in the evening even to the slaves belonging to the 
 household, particularly by a Mr. Frans Roos of Modder- 
 gat, Hamman of Stellenbosch, Roux, and others.
 
 198 
 
 With regard to the slaves, notwithstanding the great 
 power allowed to the masters, I think that in this coun- 
 try slavery existed in its mildest form ; there was a good 
 deal of kind feeling shown towards those slaves who had 
 been inherited and those born in the family (huyshoor- 
 lingen). I have seen several of the latter nursed by the 
 mistress of the house, and treated precisely like her 
 own children. In fact, they had become almost mem- 
 bers of the family. 
 
 From the different modes of education, and through 
 example, caprice, passion, exaction, and disposition of 
 the different masters, there were undoubtedly exceptions ; 
 but coercion was at times required to check idleness 
 and disobedience, especially in the instance of those 
 imported Negroes, from whom it was natural to expect 
 aversion to labour. It is true that in some instances the 
 power granted by law to the masters was abused ; but 
 as this operated against the master's own interest, and 
 was moreover checked by provisions of the law, which 
 authorized the sale of an ill-treated slave, who could not 
 be again purchased by his master's relations, and in 
 some aggravated cases of all the slaves, and was more- 
 over visited by additional fines or imprisonment, and in 
 cases of murder, even with capital punishment, — cases of 
 excessive ill-treatment I consider to have been rare 
 compared to the others I have mentioned. 
 
 Yet, in however mild a state slavery may be con- 
 sidered to have existed in the colony, the absolute 
 power exercised by one human being over the other, the 
 temptation and opportunity for doing so, and abusing 
 it in the more distant localities without fear of detection 
 or control, the separation of families by sale or other 
 means, the scanty supply of food and clothing, the
 
 199 
 
 confined apartments allotted the slave, and several other 
 circumstances, especially the immoral state of concu- 
 binage, all made it ever appear to my mind as a state in 
 our society undesirable and contrary to the principles 
 of Christianity and good morals, and unnatural between 
 man and man, however much tolerated by custom and 
 even protected by law. 
 
 Whether it was from principles imbibed from my 
 father, who, born in East Friso, a country perfectly free, 
 highly extolled the liberty of the subject and the non- 
 existence of slavery in Europe, and the blessing of 
 being served by free people and not serfs, or whether it 
 was natural to my own feelings, I cannot say, — but there 
 was something so repulsive in that state of bondage and 
 so contrary to the principles of justice that when the 
 day arrived of the slave emancipation in this colony, 
 though I was a sufferer in a pecuniary point of view, 
 I felt the event was a great blessing and benefit to the 
 community at large, and was a tribute of infinite value 
 to humanity. 
 
 Had the Home Government been fully acquainted with 
 all local circumstances, and the actual inclination of the 
 inhabitants to co-operate and promote emancipation, the 
 manumission of the coloured races might have been 
 effected in this colony at less expense and with more 
 satisfaction to all parties. 
 
 At the period of which I now make mention there 
 existed a Philanthropic Society for purchasing young 
 female children, with the object of freeing them and 
 leaving them with their parents or judiciously appren- 
 ticing them during their nonage. Had the funds of that 
 society been larger, it alone in a few years might have
 
 200 
 
 extinguished slavery ; an annual grant of five thousand 
 pounds or six thousand pounds, in addition to the 
 subscriptions, would have been iftmple to effect gradually 
 the object in view, and the result of such a measure less 
 embarrassing to the owners, who were, strictly speaking, 
 under the registry by Government established and 
 countenanced in that species of property ; and such was 
 then the disposition to promote emancipation, that 
 when a slave was offered at public sale, and it became 
 known that he was to be purchased for freedom, custom 
 and feeling forbade competition, so that he might be 
 liberated for a moderate sum. 
 
 But I feel that the case of this colony could not have 
 been made an isolated one ; it stood closely connected 
 with those of her sister colonies : the grand measure 
 had been determined upon and adopted by the Imperial 
 Parliament, that in the British dominions slavery should 
 not exist, and the measure of compensation under valu- 
 ation was resorted to. 
 
 Had the payment been made in the colony, either 
 through the treasury or commissariat, according to the 
 valuation of the Government appraisers, the owners, 
 especially landholders, would not have suffered to the 
 extent some of them have, notwithstanding the distress 
 through want of labour which was immediately felt. 
 But the payment of the compensation was to be made 
 in EiKjland ; the appointment of agents to receive the 
 money became consequently unavoidable, and this led 
 to speculation and jobbery, to the profit of a few specu- 
 lators but to the loss of the slave-holder. Reports were 
 industriously spread wide and far of the uncertainty of 
 payment, or rather the certainty of non-payment, of the
 
 201 
 
 compensation claims, which induced many ignorant of 
 the true state of the matter to dispose of their claims at 
 very reduced discount to the speculator who had 
 perhaps helped to spread the report. Some who had 
 bought their slaves on credit were pressed by their 
 creditors for payment ; others required capital to pro- 
 ceed with the cultivation of their lands by free labour 
 and for other incidental expenses. I am under the 
 impression that vast sums have been realized by some 
 of the speculators, while great losses were sustained by 
 those whom Government was desirous to compensate ; 
 and I have no doubt a discontent was thus created which 
 ultimately led in the distant country districts to the 
 emigration which soon after began to pour over the 
 boundaries of the colony. 
 
 With regard to the slaves, it was but natural that 
 their expression of joy should be great ; and on the 1st 
 of December, 1 839, numbers were seen in groups with 
 happy countenances proceeding to Cape Town. Some 
 expected to find a large table with eatables spread on 
 the Grand Parade, but they were of course disappointed. 
 Much of their joyful expectations was damped by the 
 day being an uncommonly rainy one, torrents of 
 rain came down from the clouds. This caused the 
 speedy retirement of many, and some returned to their 
 old masters homes and continued in their former service, 
 and up to this date there are instances in which the former 
 slaves reside and work for wages on the estates of their 
 late owners ; but many of them have gradually estab- 
 lished themselves independent of service, and there is 
 no doubt that the condition of that class has now been 
 materially improved ; they receive handsome wages when
 
 202 
 
 employed ; and in the vicinity of Cape Town the 
 weekly pleasure parties taking their excursions and 
 pic-nics, and conveyed in wagons or other vehicles to the 
 pleasant environs of Wynberg and Constantia, prove their 
 comfortable state and position. Some have attached 
 themselves to Christian churches and institutions, but 
 most, especially in Cape Town, to the Mohammedans, 
 with whom they were previously more or less con- 
 nected. 
 
 When I consider the emancipation in point of 
 humanity, my mind is imperceptibly drawn to that 
 period before 1813, when the length of confinement in 
 prison or degree of corporal punishment were in cases 
 of domestic offences unlimited, and left in the hands of 
 masters and at the discretion of the authorities. However, 
 by Governor Sir John Francis Cradock, the corporal 
 punishment in such cases was limited to thirty-nine 
 lashes, and the public authorities having superintendence 
 of any place of confinement were directed not to per- 
 mit any slave to be detained for more than one month. 
 That under the former system abuses of unlimited autho- 
 rity had been committed cannot be doubted ; it is but 
 the natural consequence of an uncontrolled arbitrary 
 power left in the hands of human beings guided by 
 self-interest. 
 
 As deputy fiscal in Cape Town it was part of my 
 duty to dispose of cases between masters and slaves. The 
 limitation made as to the degree of punishment was to 
 my mind very relieving. Constant, I may say almost 
 daily, applications were made to have slaves punished at 
 the prison, under statements and accusations of various 
 domestic offences. And though I feel at this moment
 
 203 
 
 some satisfaction at having in several instances succeeded 
 in obtaining pardon, in others a restraint in the exercise 
 of that authority which was hcensed by the law for the 
 sake of keeping in a state of subjection and subordination 
 that unfortunate class which was doomed by slavery to 
 submit to the will of those who possessed them in bondage 
 and who were deprived of the privileges of free subjects, 
 yet I have my doubts whether in that difficult position 
 several of these cases could be strictly tested by those 
 rules for the administration of justice which at present 
 favour the public trial of all offences. The state of 
 compulsion and bondage created naturally in the slave 
 the inclination to resist in bad temper even the lawful 
 commands of the disposers of his servitude. 
 
 Comparing the number of punishments inflicted 
 in those days with those, since the emancipation, 
 and especially in latter years when I held the magis- 
 tracy of Cape Town, and when corporal punish- 
 ment was rarely found necessary except for public 
 crimes, I cannot but rejoice at the sparing of pain and 
 human suflering in our society under the present state, 
 now that slavery is unknown ; and watching for some 
 time back the state of crime, I am fully convinced that 
 under the frequent infliction of corporal punishment, 
 crime will not decrease, but harden and debase the 
 human mind ; whilst if but sparingly and suitably 
 applied in cases where the law and circumstances will 
 justify such severe exercise of power, the feelings of 
 rectitude and correctness of conduct, and the interest 
 in character, reputation, and self-respect is better pre- 
 served, and the body of the community at large kept in 
 a more wholesome state in regard to crimes and offences.
 
 204 
 
 1 vvoiikl state moi'c on this important subject, were 
 it not that I feel already to have extended the limits of 
 this memoir, but the reader will, I trust, indulge me in 
 a matter in which, both as a public man and a private 
 citizen I have been deeply concerned. 
 
 I will now return to the customs and manners of my 
 countrymen, and attempt to give some further idea 
 thereof and of their general character and domestic cir- 
 cumstances. 
 
 I fancy myself entering the house of an old respect- 
 able countryman, and especially the hall. There was 
 the mistress of the house usually seated, receiving her 
 familiar guests, in dress clean and orderly, surrounded 
 by members of the family and several female servants, 
 generally well employed in needle or other necessary 
 work. On the tea table which she occupied stood 
 the urn and kettle, alongside the waterbuckets mounted 
 with copper, the copper fountain hanging on the 
 wall with a little cock, destined to wash hands, — and 
 these were all kept remarkably bright ; the floors, when 
 of clay, were weekly rubbed with blood to preserve it, 
 and in inferior dwellings with cow-dung ; in the houses 
 of those in easy circumstances hnseed oil or grease was 
 used to give it, when floored with Batavian tiles, a polish. 
 This made it sometimes so slippery that it really 
 required a steady step to preserve one's balance. 
 
 One of the front rooms was usually a parlour, and 
 particularly in summer kept dark and cool. It was fur- 
 nished with stinkwood furniture, and the chief piece 
 was a large wardrobe (cabinet), with folding doors and 
 drawers, silver mounted, and this was destined for the 
 neat Sunday dresses and extra linen. In some rooms I
 
 205 
 
 have seen organs for sacred music, but no carpets or fire- 
 places were in my younger days in use ; the stinkwood 
 furniture was preserved by the rubbing of hnseed oil 
 or wax, or varnishing. 
 
 Another front room was furnished with bedsteads 
 and fine soft feather beds and other pieces of furniture, 
 and some little ornaments. This was kept for the special 
 purpose of receiving strangers, so that the friend or 
 traveller was generally welcome and his reception pre- 
 pared. The ladies were very particular about the rooms 
 reserved for that purpose. I have often had the pleasure 
 of sharing in the hospitality of my country friends, and 
 thus speak from experience. 
 
 The rest of the house, such as bedrooms, nurseries, 
 pantry, kitchen, &c., were of course the exclusive domain 
 of the mama. 
 
 The husband on a farm was generally occupied 
 outdoors during the day, and found with the family at 
 meals or tea ; and in the evening when horses and cattle 
 were stabled and provided for, he took his seat in the 
 arm chair in the family hall, enjoying his pipe and con- 
 versation until supper was announced. 
 
 The village of Stellenbosch was in those days very 
 sociable. The landdrost, secretary, pastor, village 
 physician, and some of the most respectable inhabitants, 
 about a dozen in number, met in turn at their respective 
 houses in the evening, when, smoking the social pipe 
 with canister tobacco, and in winter discussing a glass of 
 punch or good wine, the evening was pleasantly passed. 
 Those fond of reading entertained the company by 
 what they had collected from their own libraries, others 
 from reading newspapers and pamphlets circulated. I
 
 206 
 
 know that my old gentleman used to be supplied with 
 a good many in the Dutch, English, and German lan- 
 guages, and that a pleasant evening passed until nine 
 o'clock. This was the regular hour for parting, when the 
 lanterns brought by the respective servants were 
 lighted, and the party separated with a hearty shake of 
 hands and bidding one another good night. When the 
 company assembled at the parsonage, I was allowed 
 sometimes as a favour to sit in the room, generally the 
 study, and I well recollect hearing some very inter- 
 esting and instructive conversations ; and not unfre- 
 quently religious subjects were introduced. 
 
 The ladies used to accompany their husbands, and 
 were received in a separate room, and amused themselves 
 by conversing on different subjects connected with their 
 department or taste, enjoying a cup of coffee, tea, 
 chocolate, sweetmeats, cakes, &c. ; and when the 
 clock announced the hour for departure they joined their 
 husbands, some being carried in sedan chairs, then in 
 fashion, by two bearers. 
 
 The custom was to send in the morning either for 
 your friends, or they sent a message to know whether it 
 would be convenient to receive company, and if accep- 
 ted, the families were thus socially assembled. 
 
 Stellenbosch was then the resort of many respectable 
 strangers and English visitors ; their society was certainly 
 most agreeable and to me very instructive ; our house 
 was often frequented by them. 
 
 It happened sometimes, especially at the close of 
 winter, when the days are beautifully clear (and the 
 climate vies with any in the world) that my father, with 
 a view to divert his mind and enjoy the beautiful
 
 207 
 
 scenery about the village, used early in the week to visit 
 his parishioners, and either in a chaise or on horseback, 
 accompanied by some fond of sporting, vv^ould cross the 
 fields, adorned with a great variety of flowers ; and he was 
 occasionally successful in supplying the family with 
 game. I saw him once shoot a rheebuck at about eighty 
 yards' distance with the gun he left me. One of these 
 favourite excursions was to the waterfall in the Jonkers- 
 hoek mountains, situate about ten or twelve miles from 
 the village. Some of the villagers were invited to 
 accompany our party; they carried with them guns and 
 were followed by a number of dogs. When the morning 
 star made its appearance I was summoned from sweet 
 slumbers to join. The good mama had prepared coffee 
 and cakes at our starting, and orders were given to our 
 cheerful body-servant, Hendrik, to saddle Frolic and 
 Prince, the two shooting ponies, and Turk, Fanny, and 
 Caffre, the sporting dogs, were kept in readiness and in 
 charge of the servant ; and at the dawn of day the party 
 started, amply provided with supplies of refreshments 
 for the day. My sisters or other young ladies accom- 
 panied us occasionally on horseback, and whilst we rode 
 along the banks of the Eerste river above the village, 
 admiring its serpentine course betwixt a number of 
 small trees and bushes of various sorts, and running 
 over a bed of light-coloured stones betwixt two high 
 mountains, the sun rose from behind the top of these 
 stupendous rocks, changing the dark hue of the sky into 
 brightness, and interesting objects made their appear- 
 ance in the dawning light, showing a picture of 
 fragments of rocks, caves, precipices, little streams, lofty 
 summits, trees, &c., enlivened by birds such as wood-
 
 208 
 
 pigeons, eagles, crows, hawks, and others of the smaller 
 feathery tribe, and amongst them the honey-bird, for 
 which some of our followers were looking out in hopes 
 of finding a beehive, as it was credibly asserted that that 
 bird led watchers to a hive. Other animals, such as 
 bucks, jackals, &c., were also observed, and amongst 
 them, not unusually, a group of baboons. In fact, such 
 was the scenery that it could not fail to excite feelings 
 of admiration. Three or four beautiful farms planted 
 with vineyards and orchards made also a change along 
 the road ; and having passed these, at about five 
 or six miles' distance from the last, the waterfall or 
 cascade is seen dropping from the top of the mountain 
 between a cluster of trees on natural terraces, widening 
 in the middle and at the bottom in proportion to the 
 stream, where it joins and forms the source of the Eerste 
 river. 
 
 The river beino; crossed and horses unsaddled, we 
 approached the foot of the fall, and gradually ascending 
 the mountain under cover of trees about one hundred 
 and fifty feet above the level ground, a beautiful basin 
 is seen of about twenty-five feet diameter, with clear 
 fine water, the receptacle of the stream, formed between 
 high rocks adorned with creepers and tresses of long 
 grass and plants hanging downwards, moistened by the 
 drops of water from above. This basin is about four or 
 five hundred yards below the perpendicular wall of 
 rocks, having at the top a prominent point, near which 
 the fall commences. Here the party rested in the space 
 adjoining the basin and enjoyed the field feast supplied 
 and gathered in the shape of a pic-nic from several 
 contributions by the partakers. After the pastor had
 
 209 
 
 said grace, and called attention to the wonders of nature 
 and the interesting scenery around us, for such oppor- 
 tunities never escaped and his feelings were too lively, 
 and he was too much attached to subjects which could 
 raise the mind to intellectual enjoyment, the party 
 returned usually towards evening well pleased at having 
 spent a happy day. 
 
 On one occasion this pleasure excursion might have 
 proved fatal. I was too young to accompany the party, 
 but I heard my father often relate the fact that whilst 
 they, about twenty or twenty-five in number, were sitting 
 near the basin above mentioned enjoying themselves, 
 a large baboon made his appearance on a rock, prom- 
 inent far above the place where they were sitting, 
 bawlino- out and lookino; downwards. This excited some 
 of the young folks to return the cries, when one of the 
 elder gentlemen, a Mr. Wm. Wium, an experienced 
 sportsman, observed the animal walking backward and 
 forward, as if intending to move the rocks and roll them 
 down, such as in his sporting excursions he had seen on 
 other occasions before, and he warned them that it 
 would not be long before the baboon would return the 
 compliment of mocking him by rolling some of the 
 stones down the precipice. Scarcely had he spoken, when, 
 to the amazement and fright of the party, a large rock and 
 volley of small stones were seen rolling down from the 
 spot where the creature had been seen. One of them fell 
 in the midst of the party and slightly wounded one of 
 the ladies in the leg ; none of the others luckily were 
 touched. The narrator used often to express his 
 astonishment at the choice of the point, being right 
 perpendicular above the basin, made by the brute and 
 
 p
 
 210 
 
 taken to answer his object, so that the stones should 
 reach the spot where he and the party were. He quoted 
 it as an instance of extraordinary instinct and sagacity 
 in that species of animal so nearly approaching the 
 human being, and stated how providential was the 
 escape of the rest of the party, of which the half at least 
 had the chance of being severely injured by the larger 
 pieces of rocks. He said that this should be a lesson to 
 trust to the warnings of experienced men, and that it 
 reminded him of the old proverb, simia quam similis 
 turpissima bestia nobis. 
 
 Another pleasant excursion in my youthful days was 
 to the Hottentots' Holland strand. The family was con- 
 veyed in a large wagon to Fishhoek (Gordon's Bay), and 
 there we met some of the kind and hospitable people 
 of the neighbourhood, or perhaps another party who 
 followed from the village. The ladies vied in preparing 
 the fine fish as a dish called the " fish-soup," and in 
 other modes ; and the large harder or mullet was roasted 
 on pointed sticks by the fire ; — this was the " spit-fish." 
 Sometimes the party succeeded in finding a few 
 oysters for their pastor, and thus many a happy day was 
 spent. With what anxiety, and I may almost say 
 sleepless hours in the night, was the morning of such 
 days expected. I fancy I see the party preparing, and 
 their enjoyment. The distance admitted returning in 
 the evening to our homes. 
 
 Sometimes we visited the well-known place Zandvliet, 
 and were there received by the owner, Mr. Rudolph 
 Cloete, with great hospitality. The strand of Zwartklip 
 was near, and I have there seen in one haul upwards 
 of three hundred large fish (steenbrassen) caught andj
 
 •2\l 
 
 drawn on shore. On that estate, at present the pro- 
 perty of Mr. Pieter Laurens Cloete, was a large lake 
 (now drained and converted into a fine, productive corn- 
 field) abounding with waterfowl ; and I recollect, with 
 some deo;ree of pleasure now, the excursion in a boat 
 thereon in pursuit of the wild-ducks, which afforded 
 good sport. 
 
 The owners of places in the neighbourhood of the 
 village used to send, occasionally, their wagons for our 
 family to spend the day with them ; and we returned 
 towards evening, after experiencing great civility and 
 enjoying their hospitality, — frequently well supplied 
 with vegetables and fruits, and other items which the 
 liberality of these kind people afforded for the comfort 
 of the household. 
 
 The Eerste River supplied 'an abundance of small fish, 
 namely, the carp, and a beautiful white silvery fish with 
 red-tinted fins ; and many an afternoon the children and 
 their little companions were entertained by fishing, and 
 well supplied with necessaries, and attended sometimes 
 by my cheerful parent. The river also produced eels, 
 rarely caught, however, with the hook, and only during 
 night time in deep places by some one who had suffi- 
 cient patience to watch. 
 
 Among the kind neighbours was Mr. Hendrik 
 Cloete, sen., the ancestor of the numerous family now- 
 residing about Cape Town, at Constantia, and diflferent 
 places in the colony. This gentleman was, when I 
 knew him, proprietor of that fine estate Nooitgedacht, 
 about six miles from the village, being a large wine- 
 farm, with extensive woods of fir trees, which that enter- 
 prising ao'ricultm-ist had planted in his vounger days ; 
 
 p 2
 
 212 
 
 they were the only woods in the district. He possessed 
 about one hundred slaves, and enjoyed every comfort 
 attainable in the country. He had his sportsmen supplying 
 the table with game and fish, a large poultry-yard and 
 pigeon-house, a box with eels, kept alive by being 
 placed under a little running stream. He was then a 
 widower; and but one son, Mr, Johan Gerhard Cloete, 
 a bachelor, lived with him. Often was he visited by 
 my father, who took me with him, and his kindness and 
 hospitality were great. In person he commanded res- 
 pect, was peculiar in manner, and was considered one 
 of the wealthiest residents in that part of the country. 
 Though of grave appearance, he was not averse to 
 amusement, and enjoyed a joke. 
 
 A large baboon tied to a pole beside the house used 
 to engage my attention. It was mischievous, and once 
 took a crawling child (one of the slaves), to the top of 
 his pole, about eighteen or twenty feet high. The 
 state and anxiety of the mother during the time the 
 animal held the poor infant, struck me forcibly. 
 However, by coaxing him with fruit, he was induced to 
 come down gently, holding the child, which was safely 
 rescued out of his grasp. 
 
 I hope now to have given some idea, though 
 imperfectly, of the state of our village society and inhabi- 
 tants whilst I lived amongst them; and will proceed to 
 close this section by attempting to describe, in two 
 sketches, Morning and Evening scenes in the days of my 
 youth, for the edification of my young countrymen, 
 drawn partly from fact and reality, and in doing so copy 
 two of my literary productions written originally in 
 Dutch in 1838. 
 
 \
 
 •2J3 
 
 A MORNING IN THE DAYS OF YOUTH. 
 
 " In the vast extent of this extreme point in the 
 southern part of the world, is a fruitful valley, situated 
 between high and steep hills. It is watered by a brook, 
 abundant in clear and pure water, and is destined by 
 nature as a charming and agreeable receptacle for man. 
 
 " On this spot is a village regularly laid out, showing 
 the taste and order of the founders ; the oak of a 
 hundred years stands there in full growth and foliage. 
 The commander who selected the situation was a man 
 noted in history as uncommonly well acquainted with 
 the country; and upwards of one hundred and fifty 
 years before this, the corner-stone was laid of this the 
 first of the South African villages and inland towns. 
 Thanks to his choice ! 
 
 " In plainness and simplicity, this village showed its 
 beauty for more than a century ; it afforded an agreeable 
 excursion to the stranger who visited our shores. Hospi- 
 tality, that sister of Sociality, resided there, and offered 
 amiably her unadorned flowers. But about fifty-five 
 years ago, a fire which raged destructively in its streets, 
 deprived most of the stately oaks of their beauty, and 
 many a peaceful family of its home ; and thus the 
 beautiful original vanished. The axe speedily cut both 
 tree and branch to the ground, the trunk was rooted 
 out of the attached soil, and the plain buildings and their 
 ruins were levelled, and replaced by others of more 
 modern architecture. 
 
 " In the days when formalities were unknown in the 
 village (tradition says), it appeared as one family home; 
 the villagers were known amongst themselves from 
 childhood ; virtues and vices were speedily exposed,
 
 214 
 
 and cither praised or unceremoniously condemned. Tlie 
 voice and opinion of the seniors decided the differences 
 in the village, by good and sound sense; and the judg- 
 ment of these plain and honest men was all decisive, 
 and friendly and indulgent feeling paved the way to 
 mutual good understanding. Reciprocal support in 
 distress and want was the pleasing and useful fruit of 
 such proceedings, and it has been stated that scarcely a 
 person, failing in the honest pursuit of livelihood, was 
 known to have held his hand out for assistance and suc- 
 cour without meeting with compassion. Distress could 
 not be seen without a fellow-feeling. 
 
 " Rather more than half a century ago, it was the lot 
 of a faithful labourer in the vineyard of the Lord to be 
 appointed as pastor in that village. His description in 
 later days of the pleasing intercourse and happy state 
 of the villagers, when he took charge of his Cure, often 
 raised in those who listened to his narratives a wish 
 that such days could return ; his plain but sincere 
 doctrine, — his friendly and social disposition, — contribu- 
 ted, whilst in possession of health and vigour, much to 
 spread happiness, and charmed the greater part of his 
 flock. They listened on such occasions to him, whilst 
 he riveted their attention with pleasure and delight. 
 
 ^' He instructed in the most simple mode, and taught 
 the first duties owing by man to God and his fellow- 
 creatures. He was faithful to his Great Master ; and his 
 doctrines and his labours were signally rewarded by 
 acknowledgment and gratitude, after a continuous service 
 of forty years. When — under age and infirmity — this 
 feeling continued, and after departure, he and his were 
 kindly kept in remembrance.
 
 'J 15 
 
 " In the family of this man, Love and Contentment had 
 taken their abode, and domestic blessings followed his 
 labours; and amongst the mercies for which he often 
 offered thanks to his Heavenly Father, were those of 
 having an amiable and faithful partner in life and a 
 numerous family. 
 
 " In advanced years he observed (in order to dispel 
 unnecessary care for the future and to raise confidence), 
 the blessings which he received and could enumerate at 
 the birth of every child; and in referring to them, found 
 cause to be grateful. He had kept in mind that great 
 promise : ' The Lord will provide.' His fate he thus 
 considered, compared to others, blessed above thousands; 
 and, in conclusion, he was in the habit of confiding his 
 cares and anxieties to Him who in His providence 
 provided so amply for the children of men, and even 
 the smallest insect. 
 
 " By his hand walked a lad, the pleasure and hope of 
 his life. The formation of his mind and heart was his 
 delight : and by unfolding to him in proper time the 
 book of Nature, he guided, already early, his heart to 
 principles of reverence and to the origin of the creation, 
 and exhibited the wonderful beauty and texture which 
 even in an apparent insignificant flower, by microscopic 
 examination, and in a grain of sand and dust with its 
 scarcely visible inhabitants, could be detected ; and 
 thence he gently directed his thoughts and raised them 
 to Him who governs and maintains the whole, and 
 usually closed by eliciting a feeling of gratitude for 
 being ranked amongst the reasonable beings capable to 
 conceive and admire such wonders and beauties, so as 
 to give cause for thanks and glory.
 
 216 
 
 *' In one of these beautiful summer mornings which in 
 this southern country and moderate climate dawn so 
 brilliantly, — (when the heavens with clear azure, and the 
 stars with double lustre appear), — the heart of this parent, 
 moved thus early full of hope for his favourite, quietly 
 left the side of his partner, approached the bed 
 of his young disciple, and addressed him with an affec- 
 tionate voice, such as we may fancy a patriarch formerly 
 called out to his son : — " Follow me." It was to tender 
 to the Lord an offering of love and gratitude, but in a 
 mode less symbolical. 
 
 "By a road and walk which had been made, accord- 
 ing to our fancy, in a garden planted with the best fruit 
 trees, and showing a productive vineyard, the lad was 
 conducted by the hand of his father to a shaded grove 
 situated on the banks of a clear brook ; and a place was 
 chosen in a simple bower (which but shortly before had 
 been constructed from branches of a beautiful oak 
 standing near and bent) and some sods formed the seat 
 on this occasion. 
 
 " The surrounding hills showed grandly from that spot, 
 their shadows covered the darkness of the valleys and 
 compared to the counterpart of the firmament, the 
 heart was touched by that production of the Almighty, 
 which separates Light from Da7'k?iess ; and then he 
 spoke nearly thus : ' My son, as great as is the difference 
 between light and darkness, so great is also that between 
 virtue and vice. The virtuous walk as the stars move 
 on an even surface in the glance of God's light, — stately, — 
 majestically, -orderly, — shining here and hereafter in 
 eternity ; the vicious are obliged to sink as the darkness 
 of these valleys, the light of Truth will effiice their works ;
 
 217 
 
 obliged to choose the dark walks they run the lisk of 
 losing the right course, — they are entangled betwixt 
 thorns and thistles, and ultimately nothing but holes 
 and caves will give them shelter. In futurity they 
 gaze on similar gloomy and dark prospects, and in vain 
 shall they, thus straying, invoke the aid and consolation 
 of men. Choose thus early the path of virtue, and 
 whatever shadows may gather over you, your fate in 
 life will be as that of the stars in the firmament, you 
 will rise and set with lustre ; yea even beclouded, the 
 brightness of your nature will not change.' 
 
 " Under these or similar conversations the mornino- 
 star rose from behind the summits of the hills, and more 
 brilliant in appearance than the others, it engaged the 
 attention of the gentle instructor, and he proceeded thus : 
 ' As that star rises there (so superior in light and so 
 striking in lustre) is to you and me, thus was it once with 
 the shepherds in the fields of Palestine, and thus it is 
 at the present day for the herdsmen of this vast exten- 
 sive country ; it announces to those expecting light the 
 approaching dawn of morning, and makes their hearts 
 liappy in the prospect of relief The Almighty finger, 
 which marked its course from the commencement of 
 creation in remote ages, keeps that brilliant star still in 
 its track and balance ; and many a shepherd, perhaps, 
 raises already his morning hymn of thanksgiving and 
 praise. Come, let us also raise a morning song to the 
 glory of Him who created this beautiful globe." And 
 having sounded a flute, as it were, to prepare the voice, 
 that beautiful German hymn, ' Wie schon leucht uns 
 der Morgenstern,' was sung, with a feeling and melody 
 better felt. than described. 'This, mv son, is the hymn
 
 218 
 
 which a virtuous poet lei't to his countrymen ; would to 
 God ! that it were raised every morning in this your, by 
 nature, highly favoured native country ; how happily 
 would then the husbandman and his household com- 
 mence the tilling of the ground, and, however laborious 
 it might be, obtain his bread by the sweat of his brow, 
 under the impression of a well-regulated mind and heart, 
 and the day of toil close with content ; how happy and 
 sweet would be the hour of retii'ement, and the cheering 
 rest of night be courted. Accustom yourself now in 
 the days of youth to these and similar morning devotions, 
 and abide thus calmly for the blessing of the Lord on 
 your daily course.' 
 
 " Now opened more and more the dawn of morning, 
 as the tips of the hills were tinted with light, and the 
 soft murmur of the running brook attracted the attention 
 of the good man, when he resumed : ' As quietly as the 
 little stream glides away, so gently and undisturbed run 
 tlie early years of youth; and as the winter season 
 changes this quiet emblem in its appearance, so you 
 will learn that the stream of life does not always run 
 smoothly, for even in the spring season thereof we 
 are exposed to its effects. And when winter ap- 
 proaches then you will be taught also that the course of 
 your life's stream shall be changed. You witnessed, last 
 winter, how this brook rose over its banks, — how the 
 stones, lying so quietly there, knocked against each 
 otJier and, as it were, even imitated the thunder by their 
 rolling, — how trees with their roots upwards drove on the 
 surface, — and how the Almighty has kindly restored the 
 scene into the gentle and soft one of this day.. His power 
 sent the heavy rain, and caused fountains to rise abun-
 
 219 
 
 (hiiitly, — but He also withdrew this evidence of His pro- 
 vidence according to His will and pleasure. When, in 
 the course of your life you observe the scenes change, 
 bring to mind this moment, and be prepared in your soul ; 
 and should days of prosperity and happiness be your share, 
 then be thankful and enjoy them in contentment; but if 
 your stream be troubled, think of the resemblance which 
 this quiet gliding brook teaches, and rest in humble 
 expectation that the storm will cease. Enjoy yourself 
 innocently in the days when cares are unknown (as 
 the little fish you see there swimming so peacefully), with 
 whatever may be allotted to your share of comfort, in 
 the circle around you ; but keep in mind, as a creature 
 destined for a higher sphere, that you have not received 
 existence for temporal enjoyment only, and, under the 
 uncertainty of its fleeting, prepare yourself quietly for 
 a winter day, and seek timely a refuge which may in 
 storujy weather afford a safe asylum. After the close 
 of the period of early life you will imperceptibly be 
 drawn to the world's ocean, and your relative position 
 there will be the same as this brook stands to the great 
 receptacle of the sea. You will then have to steer your 
 bark of life with knowledge and prudence ; whilst it pro- 
 ceeds undisturbed and light winds touch your sails, so 
 long shall you prosperously and pleasantly pursue your 
 voyage. But receive in kindness my warning; you will 
 soon detect the weakness of your limited powers and 
 inexperience when the gales and storms shall beat and 
 shake your vessel ; knowing this, choose in time that 
 Pilot for your safety who will preserve and teach you to 
 find the true course, and never forsake or frustrate the 
 hope of the humble but confident mortal. Consult the
 
 220 
 
 compass which He has supphed, and you will be able to 
 conquer the effect of the winds and avoid the blind 
 rocks, and to meet the tempest with steadiness, and know 
 how to brave adversity. As an anchor of safety He will 
 be as your father and protector in the moment of danger, 
 yea, even in peril of death, be on board to preserve you ; 
 and trusting to Him, though all may be dark about 
 you, a light will rise in obscurity, and your op- 
 pressed mind confidently fixed, shall, even as these 
 valleys before us, seem brightened by a clear and blessed 
 morning.' 
 
 " Ultimately the sun burst forth his first beams of 
 light, and, as a brightening nourisher, enlivened the scene 
 of nature ; the birds of the wood sang in cheerful 
 chorus, or chirped, as if welcoming the monarch of day, 
 and all around us assumed a bright aspect. The sun- 
 shine enlivened nature around us ; and thoughts and 
 exultation of the mind were drawn towards Him ! who, 
 as the great luminary of the world, first rose and 
 appeared to the Bethlehemite. 
 
 " 'Thus, my son,' continued the parent, 'has also this 
 light appeared for you, greater and more bright than 
 even the sun; his appearance and rising spread beams 
 of heavenly light on earth. To the mortal who does 
 not close eye and heart to the Truth by Him revealed, 
 He even now brings fertility, and ripens sweet fruits to 
 be relished by the soul. So visible as this great light 
 is to the eye, so shining will also be the rays of the Sun 
 of Righteousness and Blessing, enlivening the whole 
 universe and creating true faith on earth, and warm 
 the soul of the ti-ue Christian to gratitude, love, and 
 praise.
 
 221 
 
 " ' Let, then, every rising sun remind you of His love 
 in the redemption of Man, and endeavour to close each 
 day by its setting peaceful with God and your fellow- 
 sojourners on earth, readily forgiving the same as you 
 hope once to receive mercy and pardon at the hands 
 of your Father in heaven. 
 
 " 'This Sun of Righteousness, according to Heaven's 
 fixed decree, did once set here on earth ; and for the 
 salvation of the sons and daughters of the dust, this 
 setting was apparently involved in sombre clouds, and 
 although, as yet, to the mortal eye, personally veiled, 
 He is and remains as His emblem before us, in never- 
 ceasing existence, and shall, as sure as this morning, 
 again appear, for the comfort and consolation of his 
 true followers and childi-en, who, either in prosperity or 
 adversity, have lived under that happy expectation on 
 earth, and who have unshakingly relied upon His pro- 
 mise and merits. His doctrine, my child, (which I hope 
 to disclose more and more to you, as your mental 
 faculties increase), will, I trust, remain with you as a 
 light to your path and a lamp to your feet, until your 
 thread of life shall run out ; and we once meet in the 
 House of many habitations with your and my Father ! 
 the great Creator of yonder splendid rising sun, — I pray 
 and trust, to our eternal happiness.' 
 
 " These were nearly in substance, the morning lessons 
 with which a beautiful day commenced ; the movements 
 of the villagers were heard, and the lad returned to the 
 parental home and family with his venerated father. 
 
 " He was presented to the mother, who bestowed the 
 mornino' kiss with natural affection, and, when she 
 learned wliat had passed, recommended with a happy
 
 222 
 
 smile that the lessons might be never forgotten ; and 
 I have no doubt a silent prayer to that effect accom- 
 panied her wishes." 
 
 The above is a collection of lessons retained and im- 
 parted for the edification of my young countrymen and 
 friends. Paternal love dictated them, and they are cal- 
 culated to raise a friendly feeling between parent and 
 child, and to establish early religious principles, — to make 
 room for that want of feeling which measures distance 
 between parent and child, so that fear (instead of cordial 
 affection and true filial love) is fostered, and that it may 
 lead to prevent punishment and consider such extreme 
 as a discord (a note false and disturbing the harmony 
 of a connection more pure and noble than any others), a 
 relation which seems to have been united by the Creator 
 with a chord in which his attribute of Love is interwoven 
 with Wisdom, one in which attachment and natural 
 inclination move the strings, and sound judgment 
 vibrates the tone, and which prepares the heart of the 
 offspring for dutiful and affectionate impressions. 
 
 The paternal lessons and advice imparted, and from 
 time to time repeated and improved, left a deep sense 
 of their importance in the mind of the lad. Advancing 
 in life he estimated the value thereof more and more, 
 and offered sincere thanks in silence, and sometimes 
 with tears of gratitude, for the principles thus imparted ; 
 and even when the aged parent had departed, the wish 
 was humbly entertained that he might be once 
 ao-ain united with those who bore him so much love 
 
 o 
 
 on earth, and be favoured with the continuation of 
 heavenly communications in the higher spheres of 
 eternal bliss.
 
 223 
 
 And now I will close with the promised sketch of an 
 
 EVENING IN THE DAYS OF YOUTH, 
 
 also drawn partly from fact and reality. 
 
 " The lad had now closed his fifteenth year under the 
 guidance of his parent, and had reached the evening of the 
 last day; and the following morning would entitle him 
 to be a burgher (citizen) of his native country, and to 
 be inscribed as such on the rolls of the colony ; his 
 name was to be mentioned amongst those who could be 
 called upon for the service of the State, and enlisted in 
 the militia bodies destined for the protection and defence 
 of home and hearth. 
 
 " This transition was of too much consequence to be 
 passed unnoticed; different motives of action, duties of 
 more importance stood now in connection with his age, 
 and to leave the young man unacquainted with these? 
 no ! such could not be the case under the feelings of 
 paternal duty. 
 
 " It was one of those fine winter evenings of July, 
 closing the agreeable winter-day, which can scarcely be 
 excelled in other parts of the world. Countrymen ! you 
 have certainly, as I did, seen many such in South Africa, 
 not as in the northern countries the ground covered 
 with snow and under a white cloth concealing the 
 beautiful plants and productions, and as if dormant 
 awaiting the rays of the sun of an approaching and 
 sometimes far distant spring, — no ! Our winter produces 
 in time the most beautiful flowers, the fields are covered 
 therewith, and show themselves in their loveliest at- 
 tire. It was when the tops of the hills surrounding the 
 village were dotted with the pure white of snow, and the 
 blue rocks were breakino- through that stern and uniform
 
 224 
 
 aspect, when even then, near these points wholesome 
 herbs are growing, and flowers in diversity of shape and 
 colour are found on the slope of those hills, forming a 
 beautiful tapestry such as would delight the eye of those 
 acquainted with Botany and feelings for the production 
 of nature, and enrapture the lover of fine beauty, and 
 eclipse those produced by the cleverest artists. 
 
 " I thought. Oh southern country ! however sometimes 
 underrated, were you to be viewed without prejudice, 
 how many happy days might be spent on your soil by 
 those who possess a heart and mind in peace with 
 God and Man ; for how many who elsewhere toil for 
 their daily bread with care, could a home and refuge be 
 found here. Yes, even an abundant magazine of the 
 necessaries of life. Happy country ! in which hitherto 
 the extremes of riches and poverty are unknown. Your 
 moderate climate has already been beneficial to so many 
 health-suffering strangers. Your relief and refresh- 
 ments are not difficult to be obtained by the contented, 
 and are sufficient to the demand ; how many a visitor 
 from the East, suffering under the effects of climate, a 
 hot sun, and care, did you not send back with a stock 
 of health, of greater value than could be obtained for 
 gold or silver? and liberally were they provided from 
 your productive soil. Oh Fatherland ! small and insigni- 
 ficant as yet compared to other states, your citizenship 
 shall soon be highly estimated and the ground truly 
 valued by which the grand Creator so abundantly 
 rewards the diligent searcher and labourer. Your kind 
 hospitality, Africans, so well known, shall, as before, find 
 means to offer your plain but plentiful dish with cor- 
 diality, — you are justly praised for this excellent quality.
 
 225 
 
 '' But 1 find that feelings of the heart are canying me 
 imperceptibly from the course I had contemplated ; but 
 who can mention, without sensation, the spot upon which 
 the mothers hand first rocked the cradle, and where 
 paternal love spread the mat for crawling, and the 
 nurse's plain lullabies were heard for his first and sweet 
 slumbers ? Who can be so unfeeling ? 
 
 " I consequently return to the home where con- 
 tentment once dwelt. It was when the day had 
 declined and the evening star appeared, and her course 
 was observed from the garden of " La Gratitude," until 
 in the west it seemed to sink below the horizon and 
 out of view; eminent in lustre to the other stars it could 
 not fail to attract the attention of father and son ; agree- 
 able instructions were given and received, observations 
 were made with reference to its rapid course, until after 
 a pleasant walk the parental dwelling was entered, in 
 which the family was gathered by the fireside, and soon 
 was the cold forgotten, which in winter nights sometimes 
 produced ice, and we were in the habit of collecting it 
 out of the large cabbage leaves. 
 
 " The sacrifice of a feelino; and religious heart was 
 now lighted on the family altar ; that Word by which the 
 will of the Supreme for time and eternity is prescribed 
 was explained, and the head of the family expounded it 
 in a plain and intelligible manner, brief and to the 
 point, such as was calculated to meet the comprehension 
 of those belonging to the family circle ; and with Gellert's 
 beautiful German hymn, " Fiir alle gute sey gepreist," 
 translated by the leader in Dutch, accompanied by the 
 pianoforte, this impressive home solemnity closed. 
 
 Q
 
 226 
 
 " Opposite eacli other sat tlie parental couple, some- 
 times with pleasing smiles looking at the circle of 
 children around them, then again diverting themselves 
 by conversation and becoming jocular remarks, and thus 
 shortening the rest of the evening ; reflections on days 
 gone by, — cares, and the happiness which their first-born 
 had created, — the welcome kiss he received, and how as 
 helpless his first sounds had struck their ear and heart. 
 Yea, methinks, seeing the change of significant 
 impressions on their countenances, it expressed feel- 
 ings of gratitude for the past and confidence for the 
 future. 
 
 " The father's address was then nearly thus : ' My 
 son ! until now you have been spared and favoured 
 above many of your fellow-companions. You are on 
 the point of saying farewell to the days of boyhood and 
 to enter those of the young man. Duties of great im- 
 portance may await you with regard to your temporal, 
 and certainly eternal, existence. With one wrong step 
 the ground may be laid for irreparable injury, and you 
 may be lost for ever. O ! let me beseech you to guard 
 with trembling, the first step, it is so easily followed up 
 by the second and third, and therewith the approaching 
 ruin is completed. 
 
 " ' My object, however, is not to make you enter with 
 a dark prospect, or mind disturbed with anxiety and 
 care, upon the world's stage ; no, — you may gather sweet 
 flowers and fruits and enjoyments such as many a youth 
 before you has innocently obtained. My aim is only that 
 you direct your course according to that Word and those 
 Precepts which couple real happiness with virtue. 

 
 227 
 
 " ' One evening will be too short to impart all my 
 heart dictates ; from time to time, either in this house or 
 in the temple dedicated to the service of the Supreme, 
 or in that which did not receive existence by the hand 
 of men ; — yes, wherever it may suit, I hope to teach you 
 the duties owing to your God, your fellow-creatures, and 
 your countrymen. To treat on each of these will be to 
 me an agreeable task, and I will prepare you to perform 
 that which belongs to a useful man and a good citizen ; 
 so that you may depart from hence prepared for your 
 position in life, and (should it please God to accept my 
 wishes) for that of an inhabitant of heaven. Extensive 
 I feel is the task comprehended in these words; but this 
 shall not discourage me, nor ought it to affect your 
 determination to follow my precepts ; remember that 
 the prize is only gained by him who perseveringly 
 walks to the end in the course of duty.' 
 
 " And this was followed by an evening hymn, com- 
 posed by the parent in Dutch, in an hour of retirement ; 
 it contained sixteen verses. And with reference to them 
 he closed thus : ' Endeavour, my child, to be early con- 
 versant with such thoughts ; they convey prayer and 
 thanksgiving, and confidence that you will be watched 
 even when sleeping ; and when the last evening draws 
 near, and you are on the point of slumbering for the 
 long night, to rest from your works on earth, your 
 dying bed shall be soft, and you will rest on the down-bed 
 of the Christian. Your pillow shall be without thorns, 
 and your bedstead shall not be shaken by the anxieties 
 of a wounded conscience. Thus, though helpless in the 
 body, you will enter into the rest of a child of heaven 
 until the lovely and merciful voice will call you to rise, 
 
 Q 2
 
 228 
 
 and the morning dawn of that day which shall never see 
 gloom or darkness and last for ever and ever.' And these 
 lessons were gratefully received by the son, who in after- 
 life enjoyed their beneficial results." 
 
 And now I will take leave of Stellenbosch, where I 
 left my parents, family, and friends so happily situated, 
 in order to commence my public career in the beginning 
 of 1803, in the capital of the Colony, to be engaged in 
 the more busy and turbulent scenes of town, and 
 employed in duties of more importance to my native 
 country. 
 
 I fancy now the farewell of the dear village with all 
 its beautiful scenery and productive grounds, — the kind- 
 hearted and good villagers amongst whom I spent so 
 many happy days, — the farewell to the home of homes, — 
 dear and beloved parents, — relations, — and kind friends, 
 — with the wish that a blessing might be their lasting 
 share. And with feelings like these I parted. 
 
 i
 
 2-29 
 
 SECTION IX. 
 
 Preparing myself to become a professional man, the 
 medical line — for which I had contracted a taste under 
 Doctor Somerville, by being taught to bleed and pierce 
 the ears of the young ladies at Orange River for 
 earrings, and having accompanied sometimes one of our 
 village practitioners in his visits — was the one 1 should 
 have preferred. Correspondence had already passed, 
 and to the University of Groningen, where I had some 
 relatives, it was contemplated by my father that I should 
 proceed. 
 
 But it so happened that the President of the Batavian 
 Court of Justice, a Mr. Strubberg, seemed to recognize 
 my father as one of his fellow-students, and hence arose 
 between them an intimacy .which gave rise to my 
 employment ; that gentleman, understanding the finan- 
 cial difficulties under which the parent laboured in 
 regard to my future destiny, handsomely offered his 
 patronage, and in the beginning of 1803 a note from 
 him communicated my appointment as amanuensis to a 
 mixed court of members of the Court of Policy and 
 Justice. Mr. Daniel Denyssen, afterwards H. M. 
 Attorney-General of the colony, was then Acting Secre- 
 tary, and when the Court of Justice was established I 
 was appointed as clerk to their secretary's office, in 
 March, 1803. 
 
 The Batavian Court of Justice consisted of six mem- 
 bers and a president, all graduated in law, appointed in 
 Holland. They succeeded the old court under the 
 British, and their records and the access I had to those 
 of the former court and the duties attached to the office
 
 230 
 
 gave me great insight into the principles of law proceed- 
 ings, which up to that period were foreign to me ; and 
 studying their practice and mode of procedure, I became 
 gradually acquainted with authors in law. and laid the 
 groundwork for a colonial lawyer. 
 
 Were I to communicate the mode of procedure and 
 collect a code of cases of celebrity under the adminis- 
 tration of justice in those days, my pages would swell 
 above the limits of a memoir ; perhaps I may be in- 
 duced, should it please God to spare me, to make a 
 separate miscellaneous collection. 
 
 One of the first documents copied by me was the Act 
 of Amnesty to the farmers of GraafF-Reinet, who were 
 then confined for rebellion' in the castle, and under 
 sentence. My duties consisted generally in copying 
 the resolutions of the Court ; and as in those days scarcely 
 any public pleadings but the illiquid cases were conducted 
 in writing and the copies thereof made in the secretary's 
 office for the practitioners, I had the opportunity of 
 reading them, and thus to extend my legal information. 
 
 Gradually I rose in the office up to the first-class of 
 clerks. I was sometimes employed by the secretaries as 
 confidential clerk, and by them recommended to the 
 Governor, General Janssens; and in His Excellency's 
 office also I did duty to January, 1806, when the Cape 
 was captured by the British Forces. 
 
 As civil servant, however, I was not exempted from 
 burgher or militia duty. Amongst others, two companies 
 under white and blue coloui's, and one of cavalry, were 
 formed in Cape Town. In the white it was my turn 
 to be appointed as an ensign. On the day when the 
 colours were to be distributed, we were marched up to 
 
 ■ I 
 
 li
 
 231 
 
 Government House, and there I received my colours 
 from the hands of the eldest daughter of General 
 Janssens, presented with a pleasing smile and courtesy, 
 with a recommendation to protect them, which I re- 
 turned with a deep bow and salute, whilst music was 
 playing the national air and 2ifeu dejoie fired ; and in 
 the evening of that day I was introduced, for the first 
 time in my life, to a ball at Government House, to 
 which all the burghers' officers were invited, and we 
 appeared in uniform. My captain was Mr, Coenraad 
 Johannes Gie ; of the blue company was Mr. Andries 
 Brink (feathers in the hats and colours distinguishing 
 them), and of the cavalry, Mr. Johannes Tobias Jur- 
 gens was the " Retmeester." The duties were, occasion- 
 ally mounting guard, exercising on the parade or 
 at Green Point ; and to mine were added those of 
 secretary to a board of burgher discipline, appointed to 
 try certain cases of transgression of the rules of or- 
 ganization, and other petty offences falling within its 
 jurisdiction. Some of the sentences could not, how- 
 ever, be carried into execution before the secretary had 
 presented a minute of proceedings to the Governor and 
 Commander-in-Chief, and obtained his Ji at. 
 
 My uniform was a blue coat with facings, the lower 
 parts turned up into a point with a hook-and-eye, a 
 pair of silver half-epaulettes, plated buttons, a white 
 feather, a round hat, silver-mounted small sword, with 
 half boots, and white trowsers and waistcoat. 
 
 When the troops had marched, in 1806, to meet 
 the British, at Blaauw Berg (blue mountain), on the 
 opposite side of the bay, the two companies (white and 
 blue), and part of the cavalry were left in charge of
 
 232 
 
 the town. The last guard mounted in the Castle was 
 of my company ; when relieved by the English, they 
 marched out and deposited their arms and colours in 
 the Town-house. 
 
 When the battle was fought I could see it plainly 
 from the top of the Town-house, and with a spy-glass 
 distinguish the firing, and, after an hour or so, one of 
 the parties retiring from the plains between Blaauwberg 
 and Rietvalley to Tygerberg, our company was then 
 under orders to be ready for marching to the army, but 
 therewith ended my martial occupations. 
 
 There was no doubt at the time, that General Jansbeit 
 left town to meet the British in the above direction, for 
 the sake of saving it and its inhabitants from attack 
 and bombardment, and thus was actuated by humane 
 principles. 
 
 Upon my ari'ival in town, in 1803, the house of my 
 kind grandmother (the widow of Mr. P. J. de Wet), 
 was my home ; her kindness and love towards me can- 
 not be forgotten : she died in February, 1 806. I had 
 breakfasted with her as usual at a small table, where she 
 was in the habit of sitting, and within an hour after, I 
 was called from the office, and found that on the spot 
 where I had left her, she had been seized with an 
 apoplectic fit which terminated her useful but (in latter 
 days) care-embarrassed life. This sudden death de- 
 prived me of a kind relative and a comfortable home. 
 Since then I took rooms with an aunt. Miss Johanna 
 Alberta de Wit, and dined daily with my uncle, Mr 
 Jacobus Christoffel de Wit, and his amiable wife, for- 
 merly Miss Maria Brink ; no child could have been 
 treated with more care and kindness than I was by
 
 233 
 
 these good relatives : honoured and revered be their 
 memories. 
 
 I vi'ill now proceed, and endeavour to show^ the mode 
 of hfe in tow^n. The Keyzers and Heerengracht (now 
 Adderley and DarUng-streets) were the residences of the 
 liigh functionaries and most respectable families in our 
 society. The appearance was very different to the 
 shops which now occupy nearly all the houses in those 
 streets. 
 
 In the middle, ran canals, with sluices, along the parade 
 towards the sea, near the jetty. The water was allowed 
 to stand until it reached the top of the sluices and then 
 carried off once or twice a week, and thus were the 
 canals kept clean. On the side opposite the front door 
 of several of the houses were neat seats and bowers, and 
 there (wind and weather permitting) it was not unusual 
 to see the families enjoying themselves in the afternoon; 
 the gentlemen with their pipes, the ladies by taking tea, 
 cakes, and sweetmeats; and persons known and passing 
 by were invited to join ; and thus were either walking 
 or evening parties and an unceremonial acquaintance 
 formed and maintained. 
 
 Society was usually kept up by evening parties. 
 Small circles of six or eight families were alternately 
 formed, and assembled in turn at their houses. They 
 were either invited or it was ascertained in the morning 
 whether reception would be convenient or acceptable. 
 In some of these meetings the gentlemen used to amuse 
 themselves by smoking or playing a game of l ombre or 
 quadrille (the favoured games in those days), whilst 
 enjoying some refreshing beverage; others by a conver- 
 sation on the news of the dav, or as received from
 
 •234 
 
 Europe, and other topics ; whilst the ladies in a separate 
 room were pleasantly engaged by fancy and other ladies' 
 work ; or by passing their time in those conversations 
 in which the fair sex so happily know how to amuse 
 themselves. If the children were of sufficient age they 
 accompanied the parents, so as not to be left among the 
 slaves and domestics ; and they were allowed to amuse 
 themselves by some innocent game, or with dancing. 
 At nine o'clock, when the Castle gun fired, the lanthorn 
 and sedan chair bearers were assembled at the door, or 
 in the front hall. There was then a general rise, and 
 after bidding a cordial good night, the companies sepa- 
 rated ; except sometimes on birthdays, or other gala days, 
 when the guests were invited to stay and partake of a 
 good substantial hot supper. Early dinners on such 
 days were also not unusual. 
 
 In most families early rising was customary ; and 
 after taking coffee, and dressing, each turned to their 
 various avocations. In those days it was not unusual 
 to see the hairdresser, clad in white, trotting with his 
 long white hairpowder bag, and the German barber 
 powdered and neatly dressed, with his black velvet bag- 
 going from house to house to serve and decorate his 
 customers. The long tails then worn by the gentlemen 
 rendered the assistance of the hairdresser indispensable. 
 One of these, by name Canterbury, was particularly 
 noted for telling the news of the day, with such additions 
 and colouring as some of the droll or sarcastic employers 
 used to supply him, and vain of the intrusted secrets he 
 did not fail to circulate them faithfully as received- 
 Hence the strangest news was spread ; and tales 
 increased until his stories became so incredible and
 
 235 
 
 doubtful, that proverbially they received the reply of 
 Oh! that is a Canterbury . But at all events he was a 
 curious and amusing character at the time. 
 
 The day was usually thus divided : — after breakfast 
 the functionaries went to their offices (this was between 
 eight and nine o'clock), those on business had perhaps 
 already commenced with day-break. From eleven to 
 twelve there was a pause ; and either the Society-house 
 frequented or morning calls given or received. In 
 several houses bitters (amara and others^ were pre- 
 sented, mixed with sweet and other wines and taken as 
 stomachics and to sharpen the appetite. From twelve 
 to one or two o'clock was the general dinner hour ; three 
 was the most fashionable, and after the early one, an 
 hour's retirement or repose was enjoyed (why should 
 not the early rising be an apology?). The most respect- 
 able and fashionable, after that, used to dress for either 
 a drive in the country or a walk to the gardens, or to 
 be prepared for evening society. Young people had 
 access (and found pleasant amusement and recreation 
 if considered acceptable companions by proper beha- 
 viour and conduct), to these family circles ; and as 
 each one was known from childhood, this familiar 
 mode of conversation gave the whole community the 
 character of one family, and a stranger, if considered 
 respectable, required but a slight introduction to be 
 admitted. 
 
 The proprietors of estates at Rondebosch, Brewery, 
 Newlands, Wynberg, Constantias, and Gardens above 
 the Town were always prepared to receive the 
 afternoon visitors, and entertained them with real and 
 social hospitality Their mode of showing it was not
 
 236 
 
 expensive, and their gu<^sts did not expect it, and thus 
 their visits were always welcome. In the Government 
 Garden there was an alcove of oak-trees (to the left of 
 the garden, front of Government House) at least one 
 hundred feet in length and thirty broad, covered and 
 shaded by the leaves and branches known by the name 
 of Kolfhaan. There were several seats provided, and 
 the families resorting to it were generally well dressed, 
 and occasionally met by the Governor, his lady, and 
 family, or by the inmates of Government House and 
 strangers ; and thus existed an agreeable intercourse 
 between the visiting parties. 
 
 At the top of Government Gardens there was no 
 outlet as at present ; the Paddock and College and other 
 adjoining buildings formed one square, walled in. And 
 several species of wild animals (such as the deer, 
 ostriches, large tortoises, &c.,) were in an open space, 
 whilst the more various ones (such as lions, tigers, 
 wolves, jackals, &c.) were kept in separate dens (where 
 the college stands now) for public show ; and where the 
 middle walk terminated facing a large gate. 
 
 The square to the right of that walk above the present 
 Botanic Garden was tastefully laid out and supplied 
 with various bulbs, plants, and heaths, during the govern- 
 ment of General Janssens. A member of the Court of 
 Policy, a Mr. de Salis, took a particular fancy to direct 
 the cultivation and improvements; and a Mr. Thibault, 
 a Frenchman and civil engineer (a gentleman of excel- 
 lent taste), made the plan, and laid it out; a small 
 serpentine stream, with fenciful bridges, ran through 
 the grounds, to which was added a lahijrinlh of small 
 oak trees.
 
 237 
 
 Some of the myrtle hedges along the middle walk, 
 were from six to eight feet high. 
 
 In those days there were scarcely any balls ; amateur 
 concerts and plays constituted chiefly the public amuse- 
 ment. The most respectable members of society joined. 
 Even the President of the Court of Justice assisted at 
 the concerts in playing a bass, so large that he was 
 obliged to stand during the performance. 
 
 The plan was, to form the subscribers into a club. 
 Each member was obhged, if called upon, to join, so 
 that those who were capable and took an active part 
 were not subject to hissing or censure. For whoever 
 thus disturbed the company was sure to receive a ticket 
 and programme to join the next performance, and hence 
 much ill-feeling and unpleasant remarks were avoided. 
 
 The terms were made so reasonable that I attended 
 six interesting performances during a winter for fifteen 
 shillings ; and concerts were even less. The public 
 theatre (now St. Stephen's Church, in Hottentot or 
 Riebeek-square) was hired for the purpose. That 
 theatre was held by different shareholders. 
 
 The mihtary officers mixed frequently with the inhabi- 
 tants, and, having no mess, lived with the families as 
 members, and thus became familiar acquaintances. 
 
 The gentlemen in town had, besides private associ- 
 ations, a rendezvous at a Society-house named The 
 Harmony^ in the Heerengracht (now Adderley-street), 
 in the house and store now occupied by tlie Messrs. 
 Borradaile, Thompson, Hall, & Co., where the amusements 
 were : reading, billiards, and cards. And some members 
 occupied a room set apart for conversing, smoking, and 
 the reading of newspapers. Dinners also could be
 
 ■238 
 
 ordered at a very moderate rate ; whilst every sort of 
 beverage was supplied when required. 
 
 This society originated in some of the principal 
 functionaries, merchants, and others of the respectable 
 part of the community, purchasing the house and becom- 
 ing shareholders, admitting to their number those who 
 were duly proposed. And after a certain number of 
 days' notification of their names, were ballotted for, and 
 thus admitted, by paying an entrance fee, I think of 
 £ 1 1 7s. 6d., and monthly contributions of four shillings 
 and sixpence. Strangers were also admitted when pro- 
 perly introduced. Some of them were officers of the 
 first rank, both of the Army and Navy ; the whole 
 formed an interesting club. It was a great favour to a 
 young man to gain admittance, and required special 
 recommendation. My good superior (Mr. Secretary 
 beelaarts van Blokland) obtained for me a membership ; 
 and my contact with strangers and distinguished mem- 
 bers of the society was very instructive, and has been 
 useful to me in after life. It confined itself to a limited 
 number. 
 
 The mode of living, generally speaking, was domestic 
 and private. Whether it were the sober habits, or the 
 moderate and low prices of the necessaries of life, or 
 the cheap labour when slavery existed, or the economi- 
 cal principles adopted, I will not venture to determine, 
 but certain it is, that with few exceptions there was an 
 appearance of comfort and ease amongst the inhabitants, 
 and visible contentment. 
 
 On the Sabbath most of the families in Cape Town 
 regularly attended church. Their attire was decent and 
 respectable. There were morning and afternoon ser-
 
 239 
 
 vices in the Dutch Reformed, and forenoon in the 
 Lutheran Church, and also regular services amongst the 
 Roman Cathohcs, mostly of the military in the Batavian 
 service. 
 
 The mode of service in the Dutch Church I have 
 already described in a former section ; and now I will 
 only add that of the Holy Sacrament, as administered 
 by our ministers. After the sermon, the form prescribed 
 for that part of the service is read from the pulpit, 
 verses from an appropriate psalm or hymn sung, when 
 the minister descends ; having placed himself with his 
 elders, assisted by deacons, at the head of a long table, 
 covered with a fine white cloth, the communicants are 
 invited to join ; when seated, a prayer is offered, the 
 bread broken, and served round on silver plates, and 
 the wine (usually red) passed, in silver cups from one 
 communicant to the other, in remembrance of the 
 Saviour's suffering and death. When finished, the 
 minister delivers at each table a short address, alluding to 
 the feelings and duty of Christians, and after a verse has 
 been sung (in which all join) the communicants leave, 
 dropping, in a covered plate, alms for the poor. Thus 
 successively the tables are occupied, until the last mem- 
 ber has received the Sacrament ; and after the closing 
 address and benediction have been pronounced, the minis- 
 ter then ascends the pulpit, thanksgiving and prayer are 
 offered, psalms or hymns sung, and the congregation 
 separates. I have seen in Cape Town seven or eight 
 hundred communicants joining on one Sabbath day. 
 Marriages and christenings were only performed in the 
 afternoon. The old Dutch Church in town had inside 
 nn imposing appearance from the number of coats of
 
 240 
 
 arms and shields exposed on the walls, belonging to the 
 old and some very noble and patrician families, such as 
 the Van Oudtshoorns and others. It was once the 
 custom to bury in church, and several tombstones carved 
 with arms and inscriptions marked the rank and descent 
 of those whose remains were deposited under them. 
 The Dutch ministers at that time (1805) were the Revs. 
 Serrurier, Fleck, and Manger. 
 
 The preservation of the public peace was confided to 
 the Fiscal (Attorney-General), as chief of the police, 
 and the municipal duties to a board (de Raad der 
 Gemeente), appointed by the Governor and elected and 
 proposed by the board. 
 
 The Dutch garrison for protection of the colony at 
 that time consisted of: 
 
 The 22nd Battalion Infantry, 9 companies ; 
 
 5th do. of Waldeck, 7 companies ; 
 1 company of Auxiliary Infantry ; 
 
 1 Battalion Hottentot Light Infantry, 4 com- 
 
 panies ; 
 9th Battalion Riflemen (Jagers), 4 companies; 
 Cape Riflemen, 2 companies ; 
 A Battalion of Artillery, 4 companies ; 
 Auxiliary Artillery, 2 companies ; 
 Malay do., 1 do. 
 
 Horse do., 1 do. 
 
 Field Train, 1 do. 
 
 Light Dragoons, 2 do. 
 
 and an institution for Cadets destined as Artillery. 
 Of the Militia, or Burgher Corps : 
 
 2 companies of Infantry ; 
 6 do. Cavalry.
 
 241 
 
 The Government establishment : 
 
 The Governor and General-in-Chief. 
 
 Court of Policy. 
 
 Councillor Consulent. 
 
 Court of Justice ; Attorney-General (Proeureur- 
 
 General). 
 Court of Appeal. 
 
 South African School Commission. 
 Committee to inquire and revise all Admin- 
 istrations. 
 Chamber of Commerce. 
 General Grain Committee. 
 
 Committee to revise the public registry of debts. 
 Committee to compose a general Placaat. 
 Colonial Chamber of Accounts. 
 Chamber of Insolvent Estates. 
 Bank of Loans. 
 A Director of Public Domains, Buildings, Wharf, 
 
 and Outposts. 
 A Government Sworn Surveyor. 
 A Master of the Naval Arsenals (Equipage Master) 
 
 and Dockyard ; he was also Port Captain and 
 
 Director of the Signals, &c., &c. 
 A Capitaine de Port at Simon's Town. 
 Superintendents and Overseers of Public Property at 
 
 Saldanha and St. Helena Bays, 
 
 Mossel and Plettenberg's Bays, 
 
 Zoetemelk Valley, and 
 
 Outeniqua Land (now George). 
 A Receiver-General of 
 
 Duties and Tithes, 
 
 Revenue of the Country Districts, 
 
 Custom-house Duties. 
 
 R
 
 ■242 
 
 Connnittee to improve Biredino' of Cattle and 
 
 Agriculture. 
 Committee of Vaccine. 
 A public Wood Magazine. 
 Grain Magazine. 
 Government Press. 
 
 Do. Slave Lodge (the building now occu- 
 pied for Public Offices). 
 The Town Establishment : 
 A Burgher Senate. 
 
 Commissioners of Matrimonial and Petty Cases. 
 Wardmasters (51). 
 A Board of Fire-wardens. 
 Vendue Master. 
 Schools : 
 1 Latin. 
 1 French. 
 
 1 for young Ladies. 
 
 9 ordinary (Dutcli), and other minor offices. 
 The Country Districts numbered six, namely : 
 Stellenbosch, 
 Swellendam, 
 Graaff-Reinet, 
 Uitenhage, 
 
 Tulbagh, under Landdrosts assisted by Heemraden. 
 The district of Stellenbosch was so extensive that it 
 comprised fifty field-cornetcies. 
 
 By noting the above I have attempted to give an 
 outline of the state of our society and its government 
 between 1803 and 1806. 
 
 I shall now continue to mention some events which, 
 I think, already have long escaped recollection, but 
 iniLi'lit bo read with some interest.
 
 •243 
 
 In January, 1803 (just on the eve of the colony 
 being returned to the Dutch), some ill-disposed persons 
 broke the signal-box on the Lion's Rump, and exposed, 
 during the night, the signals for a fleet. This created 
 much alarm (as both the garrisons of English and Dutch 
 were in a state of suspense as to the future govern- 
 ment), and the Governor offered a premium of rds. 
 500 — then about £100 — to detect the perpetrators. 
 
 On Saturday, the 19th February, 1803, an English 
 frigate, Concorde, arrived with despatches relieving the 
 Governors of their state of uncertainty regarding the 
 government of the Settlement ; and on Sunday, the 20th, 
 in the evening, the Batavian troops marched into the 
 Castle and mounted the guards. On Monday, the 21st, 
 the standard Batavian flag was hoisted at 8 o'clock a.m. 
 on the Castle ramparts. The Castle, Dutch frigate 
 Sjjcon, and the English Admiral's ship saluted, and the 
 salutes were returned from the Castle. On that day 
 General Janssens gave a large dinner, at which Lieut.- 
 General Dundas and several oflBcers of his staff" and 
 many Dutch officers attended. 
 
 On the 1st of March following a solemn day of 
 thanksgiving for peace and the restoration of the Cape 
 to the Dutch was ordered ; and the new Governor and 
 Courts of Policy and Justice were publicly installed. 
 I witnessed the scene, and it was conducted with much 
 solemnity and decorum. 
 
 On that day the Commissary-General, in a proclama- 
 tion, published his views with regard to the future 
 administration of the colony. A charter was promised 
 and a general amnesty granted to all those who had 
 been ixuilty of political offences against the former 
 
 R 2
 
 244 
 
 Government ; and the old British court of justice con- 
 tinued until the 1st of April following. 
 
 On the 9th of May succeeding, the engaging Hotten- 
 tots as free servants under printed contracts, in the 
 presence of public authorities, w^as introduced by 
 proclamation. 
 
 The Burgher Senate received from Government in 
 the same month a support of 41,618 guilders (equal 
 each to Is. 6d. of our money), and a loan of 25,000 
 guilders to improve the tow^n. 
 
 In June Governor Janssens made a tour through 
 the colony, and from his report (vi^hich was not 
 altogether favourable regarding the treatment of the 
 natives), the Commissary-General gave his humane views 
 on that subject in a proclamation. He seemed deter- 
 mined to have justice done between the parties, and to 
 support religion and education. This memoir is too 
 limited to give the whole of his sentiments ; but to the 
 friends of humanity this forms an interesting document 
 on our records. 
 
 In August General Janssens returned to town. His. 
 account of the destruction of property seen on the 
 frontier, and the suffering of the inhabitants by depre- 
 dations of the natives, — his measures adopted to establish 
 peace, — the mentioning of the good feeling and hospi- 
 tality of the inhabitants and his Excellency's interest in 
 the general welfare, and recommendation to be united, 
 are worth perusing, as a confession of his principles 
 and an evidence of the interest he entertained for the 
 community intrusted to his care and government. 
 
 In the same month the society " Tot nut van "t Alge- 
 meen " (pro bono publico), still in existence, and origi-
 
 245 
 
 nally founded in Holland in 1784 for the public instruc- 
 tion of all classes, held its first meeting in the Town- 
 house. The chair was taken by Mr. J. A. Vermaak. He 
 explained the object, — namely, the instruction of youth, 
 improvement of agriculture, and the encouragement of 
 arts and sciences. As subjects worth considering were 
 also mentioned, the oil extracted from the palma 
 christi, diseases of cattle, improving the breed of sheep 
 for the production of wool, and the introduction of Spanish 
 or merino sheep. Teachers in the Dutch, French, Ger- 
 man, and English languages were invited and prizes 
 offered. Several speeches were also made, and the 
 meeting was closed with the verse : 
 
 " Dit is dan d' eerste proef om groeijen, bloeijen, leven 
 Aan konst en wetenschap ook in dit land te geven, 
 
 Onttrek nw hulp haar niet/ bewoners van dit land ! 
 Dan ziet gy eens de landbouw bloeijen, 
 Uw kroost en wetenschappen groeijen, 
 
 Terwyl verlichting hier het onverstand verband." 
 
 Which in substance means : — the first proof shown to 
 aiford life and growth to the arts and sciences in this 
 country, addressing and encouraging the inhabitants for 
 support, under the prospect of seeing future agriculture 
 flourish, and the rising generation acquiring the sciences, 
 and banishing ignorance by enlightened pursuits. 
 
 In September, 1803, apprehensions were already 
 entertained of peace being disturbed in Europe, and the 
 Burgher Militia was established, the Governor calling 
 upon every sixth man to come forward as a volunteer 
 to be in readiness for the defence of the colony, and if 
 the number was not forthcoming, the difference to be 
 supplied by requisition through the field-cornet.
 
 24(S 
 
 The Burgher Senate, under authority, also ealled 
 upon all able men in town and vicinity, between sixteen 
 and thirty-five years, to be formed in a corps and keep 
 themselves in readiness for defence. 
 
 The Governor, consistent with the principles of the 
 Batavian Government laid down, stated : 
 
 " That every burgher is bound to maintain, support, 
 and protect the peace in the place where he resides, and 
 the security of his fellow-inhabitants. 
 
 " That the time and mode of execution of this sacred 
 and honourable duty should be presci'ibed by the ex- 
 ecutive power. 
 
 " That the young able men should be chosen in 
 preference, and 
 
 " That all armed bodies were bound to carry out and 
 obey — without assuming the right to deliberate or deter- 
 mine on orders received." 
 
 I saw also, for the first time, a military execution. 
 Three deserters were shot at Green Point. One be- 
 longed to the Jagers, son of a clergyman in Holland. 
 His case attracted particular notice and feeling. It 
 seemed that regretting his enlistment, he entertained a 
 strong desire to return home to his father, but as no 
 discharge under the expected war could be obtained, he 
 I'esorted unfortunately to repeated desertion. I was 
 particularly struck with his appearance. His coolness 
 when preparing to meet his fate was most remarkable, 
 and generally observed by the spectators. Methinks I 
 see him yet, kneeling on the sniall heap of white sand, 
 taking off his military cap previous to being bhndfolded. 
 T\\{' whole garrison niairhed past the corpse by oidcr 
 of the Gcnrral, foi' ('x;im])l(' s sake.
 
 •247 
 
 The rumours of war between the French aUies and 
 the English increased in October, and Mr. Commissary- 
 General de Mist addressed, by proclamation, the 
 colonists on the duty of defending the colony in case of 
 an attack. And all parties in the country who had 
 served in the army or navy were ordered to appear 
 before a special committee. 
 
 The places "Rustenbiirg" at Rondebosch and " Par- 
 adys ' above Newlands, were offered for sale, probably 
 because the treasury required aid. 
 
 A declaration of war was issued on the 8th of 
 October, and an impressive appeal made by the General 
 to the soldiers to do their duty. 
 
 The Governor (probably from humane feelings and a 
 desire to promote peace and good understanding with 
 the natives) ordered the release of all Kafirs retained in 
 service. Only those who served one year and were 
 inclined to continue were permitted to remain. 
 
 In order to increase the strength of the garrison, auxi- 
 liary artillery, infantry, and Hottentot corps were raised. 
 
 Mr. de Mist proceeded on a tour to the interior, to 
 gain personal knowledge. 
 
 In October, 1804, General Janssens published a very 
 feeling and impressive address to the inhabitants (too 
 long to be inserted here in detail) to co-operate in the 
 defence of the colony ; and in it a promise was made, 
 that slaves lost in military service should be compen- 
 sated for. 
 
 In December the respective limits of Swellendam, 
 Uitenhage, and Graaff-Reinet were fixed. 
 
 A report was received that four Bushmen were killed 
 by a servant, Velson, on the place of Leopold Henzer,
 
 248 
 
 in Nieuwveld, and a strict inquiry was ordered to be 
 made by the landdrost of Tulbagh. A sacred com- 
 pliance with the articles of agreement made with the 
 aborigines, and a quiet but rigid watching of the con- 
 duct of itinerant butcher servants (who had already 
 caused so much evil and mischief) were recommended 
 to the authorities and inhabitants, as the readiest means 
 to prevent disturbances. 
 
 In those days, even, there were ill-disposed persons 
 who could not rest without injuring the most useful of 
 public works, for much damage was done to the pipes 
 and watercourses in town, so that Government offered 
 a reward of rds. 1,000 (£75), for the detection of the 
 perpetrators. 
 
 Under the existing declaration of war, all men between 
 sixteen and thirty-five in the city, were ordered to appear 
 at the Town-house to be enlisted in the Burgher or 
 Militia corps. 
 
 All British subjects were directed to take their c^omzaVe 
 at Stellenbosch, under surveillance of the Landdrost, 
 and a committee formed of the Burghers (Capt. Wium) 
 and his First Lieutenant (the Landdrost) presiding, — to 
 superintend and give temporary leave of absence to the 
 well-behaved. 
 
 The enemy being expected, caution was given not to 
 attempt to interfere with the means of defence, or to 
 influence the well-disposed to effect the subversion of 
 their principles. Signals were also established as far as 
 Hottentots' Holland, Stellenbosch, and other stations in 
 the vicinity. A wagon pack of 300 wagons, 800 
 horses, and 2,000 oxen, in teams, were to be furnished 
 within the Hottentots" Holland (now Sir Lowry's) and
 
 249 
 
 Roodesand (Tulbagh) passes, and also wagons in town, 
 and placed under Ritmeester (Captain) Dirk Gysbert 
 van Reenen, of the brewery, near Newlands, under the 
 title of Captain-Wagonmaster-General. Each horse- 
 wagon, when required, was to be forwarded with five 
 muids of barley and two and a half sacks of chaff, and 
 the ox-wagons each with at least two sacks of chaff 
 when ordered. In Swellendam district and beyond 
 Hottentots' Holland, 160 ox-wagons were to be kept 
 ready, each with a span of oxen, leader, and driver. A 
 powder magazine and arsenal were also established at 
 Swellendam. 
 
 This shows clearly that the General contemplated, in 
 case of retreat, to occupy the country beyond Hotten- 
 tots' Holland, and to defend the passes leading to the 
 back country. 
 
 Paper currency was increased by 300,000 rds. 
 (about £80,000), for special purposes, namely, 
 
 Rds. 
 
 (a) For enabling the inhabitants of Stellen- 
 
 bosch to rebuild their houses de- 
 stroyed by fire . . . . . . 75,000 
 
 (b) For building residences for Landdrost 
 
 and Secretary, and Prisons at Uiten- 
 
 hage and Tulbagh . . . . . . 50,000 
 
 (c) The Committee to improve Cattle, and 
 
 other agricultural pursuits . . . . 25,000 
 
 {d) For constructing Granary and Buildings 
 connected with the administration 
 of Justice, particularly Prisons, the 
 latter so as to be more in accordance 
 with principles of humanity . . 150,000
 
 250 
 
 The special liypothec tor that increase is mentioned 
 in a proclamation of 3rcl October, 1804. 
 
 In 1805, the attention of the pubhc was drawn by 
 Government to the plantation of wood, and several 
 modes suggested to encourage it, as a scarcity of fire- 
 wood was apprehended. 
 
 In February, the Commissary-General de Mist 
 published his farewell address, expressive of his feelings 
 regarding the colony and its inhabitants, and recom- 
 mending obedience and support of Governor Janssens. 
 It seems that the war checked the project he had in view, to 
 extend the trade and general resources of the colony. 
 He felt attached to the country, and expressed his 
 acknowledgment and thanks for the hospitality and 
 kindness of the inhabitants, and especially for that received 
 on his travels, and he recommended them to the protec- 
 tion of the Almighty, — closing with the hope that the 
 administration of the present Governor might long 
 continue so as to promote the interest of the Settle- 
 ment. Thus departed Mr. de Mist — after having pre- 
 pared several instructions for public boards and depart- 
 ments, and originating some of our colonial laws. He 
 left on the 25th February, in an American vessel, — 
 (conducted to the sea-shore by the Governor and Com- 
 mander-in-Chief, and his staff, the Court of Policy, and 
 other high functionaries ; and proceeded between the 
 lines of the whole garrison and militia corps to the old 
 jetty, near the castle. This 1 had a good opportunity oi' 
 seeing, as belonging to the latter corps, and being 
 placed in the lines. 
 
 Shortly after, three corporals and twenty men of the 
 Hottentot coi'ps deserted^ juid proceeded towards the
 
 :251 
 
 Hottentot and Hanglip mountains ; and they were 
 pursued by a party of the burgher corps. When 
 approached they resisted with arms, and five were 
 killed. One burgher was killed, and two others and a 
 slave wounded. It appeared that one of the corporals 
 had formerly deserted whilst in the English service, 
 when General Dundas generously pardoned him. The 
 parents of one of the farmers killed (named Saayman), 
 received for life the use of a loan-place, gratis. Also 
 the two wounded and the burghers (Captains Wium, 
 Morkel, Linden, and Human) received each a silver 
 cup, with appropriate inscriptions and their names, for 
 services performed. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Pahud (parents of the present Governor- 
 General of Java) opened, by memorial, their plan for a 
 public institution of education and instruction for young 
 ladies, and received assurances of government support. 
 
 A law was made with regard to missionaines - they 
 were only to labour beyond the limits of the colony. 
 With the exception of the Moravians being established 
 at Baviaanskloof (now Genadendal) and Bethelsdorp, 
 certain restrictions were made, and amongst them was 
 one to prevent the farmers being deprived of Hottentots 
 engaged in their service. 
 
 Previous to Mr. de Mist's leaving, two sons of Governor 
 Janssens laid — in the presence of their father, the Com- 
 missary-General, the Court of Policy, Burgher Senate, 
 and several of the high functionaries, — the corner stone 
 of a building intended for a water reservoir, opposite 
 the place where now stands the Commercial Exchange. 
 I witnessed the ceremony. Mr. de Mist particuhu'lv 
 Jitlracted mv attention. He was (Iressed in black vclvrt.
 
 252 
 
 and had a gold chain suspended over his breast and a 
 medal. He was a man of imposing figure. The build- 
 ing erected upon that spot was a needle of about thirty or 
 forty feet high, based on squares of stone, with four spouts 
 running from the mouths of lions, and was a beautiful 
 specimen of architecture, according to a design of the 
 civil engineer, Thibault. It remained, however, un- 
 finished, and the reservoir never held any water, and 
 was afterwards levelled, after the capture of the colony. 
 The present more serviceable plan of general distribu- 
 tion of water all over the town was since established. 
 
 The public paper {Kaapsche Couranf) made some 
 very appropriate remarks regarding public conveyances 
 by post wagons and carts ; and I believe occasioned 
 the first post wagon which was established by the 
 Burgher Senate between Cape Town and Stellenbosch, 
 to run twice a week at six shillings per seat. 
 
 Mr. de Mist left, among others, an interesting ordi- 
 nance for schools. The Governor was the patron, a 
 member of the Court of Policy, the president, the 
 presidents of the Orphan Chamber and Burgher Senate 
 and three ministers were members of the school-com- 
 mission, assisted by a cashier and secretary. 
 
 In April there appears to have been a great scarcity 
 of wheat. The sale of fine flour was prohibited, and 
 fine bread only allowed for the aged and sick ; the 
 distribution being in the hands of public authority. 
 
 The Governor, anxious to ascertain what could be 
 done to promote the welfare of the colony, had twenty- 
 eight queries distributed amongst the notable inhabitants 
 — about monetary matters, taxes, products of the country, 
 trade in corn, improvement of cattle-breeding, free
 
 253 
 
 markets, diseases of cattle' and horses, conveyance ot 
 produce, production of vegetables and firewood, and a 
 committee of eighteen gentlemen were selected to reply 
 to these queries. The Governor opened his views on 
 the state of the Settlement. The results I have not been 
 able to ascertain ; they were, however, various, and 
 different in substance as I understood, so that no fair 
 conclusion could be arrived at. 
 
 One of the last publications of Mr. de Mist was a 
 regulation on church matters in this colony. 
 
 In November that remarkable and able ordinance 
 was published for the government of the country 
 districts. Mr. de Mist had left orders, and the Governor 
 and Council carried it into effect. 
 
 This important law, regulating the duties of landdrost 
 and heemraden, the secretary and messenger, field- 
 cornets and constables (as before mentioned), was framed 
 by the lute Sir John Truter, when Secretary to Govern- 
 ment, and marks the ability of that functionary and his 
 knowledge of the interior state of the colony and its 
 wants. 
 
 About six weeks before the colony surrendered, the 
 military forces required barley and chaff, and a general 
 requisition was resorted to, and the farmers in the Cape 
 (Tulbagh and Stellenbosch districts) were ordered to 
 deliver such a quantity as, according to a published list, 
 appeared opposite their names at fixed prices, namely : 
 barley at four skillings per muid, and chaff at two 
 skillings (ninepence) per sack, under certam penalties 
 to be levied on the parties failing. This was certainly 
 a stringent measure, and the farmers felt oppressed, but 
 it was in time of war, when the attack was daily expect 
 ed. Now the G(n^ernni(^nt purchases at market prices.
 
 254 
 
 The scarcity of grain was gTcat, for even the purchase 
 of rye was prohibited under a penalty of rds. 500. 
 But the inhabitants liberally met Government by volun- 
 tarily delivering at the Government granary nearly 
 one thousand muids of wheat at fifteen skilHngs per 
 muid. This conduct was complimented in a proclamation 
 as meeting the desire of Government therein expressed. 
 
 The last public sale of negroes was held under 
 sanction of the Dutch Government in December, 1805. 
 I shall not attempt to describe the scene. They were 
 but barely covered, some in a very miserable state, and, 
 thus exposed, appeared to feel deeply the necessary 
 separation between their relatives and friends. 
 
 On the 25th of the same month intelligence was 
 received by an American vessel that an English fleet 
 with troops on board, under command of General 
 Baird, had left Madeira for the East Indies. He cal- 
 culated the fleet to be one hundred and twenty sail, and 
 this gave rise to the apprehension that they were 
 destined for the Cape. All the forces were warned to 
 keep themselves in readiness, since the approach of the 
 enemy was expected, and great preparations for defence 
 were made. 
 
 In the beginning of January, 1806, a contingent of 
 Hottentots for military service was ordered, namely : 
 
 From Cape Town and district . . . . 20 
 
 Stellenbosch 
 Swellendam 
 
 
 Graaft'-Reinet 
 Uitenhage 
 Tulbao-li , . 
 
 40 
 50 
 40 
 25 
 25 
 
 200 
 
 i
 
 •^-y.) 
 
 Oil the 3i'd of the same month a small brig- manoeuvred 
 ii) Table Bay as if going to anchor; but, when nearly 
 in reach of cannon-shot from shore, she retired, and no 
 other reason could be assigned but that she had been 
 detached from the fleet to ascertain the position of the 
 bay and shipping. 
 
 On the 4th signals were made, from various points, of 
 a formidable fleet being in sight, and in the afternoon 
 Lion's Rump hoisted all the signals it could, and the 
 general opinion was soon confirmed by signals made, 
 that an English fleet had arrived and anchored towards 
 evening between R(jbben Island and Blaauwberg 
 Strand, calculated at fifty-nine sail. 
 
 Meanwhile all preparations were made to resist the 
 enemy as mucli as possible. Signal guns were fired to 
 apprise the people in the country, and an alarm given 
 to warn the militia and other corps. 
 
 General Jan Willem Janssens commanded the land 
 forces of South Africa, and the corps under his com- 
 mand were : 
 
 The 22nd Battalion Infantry of the line, 
 
 5th do. of Waldeck, 
 
 1 do. Hottentot Light Infantry, 
 
 9th do. Jagers (Riflemen), 
 
 5th do. Artillery, 
 
 1 Squadron of Light Dragoons, 
 
 1 small body of Horse Artillery for 2 piec(%s of 
 cannon, 
 
 A Field-train, 
 
 The Malay Artillery, 
 altogether amounting to 1,457 men, not including ofticers 
 or non-commissioned officers.
 
 256 ^ 
 
 On the 5th the companies of burgher cavalry of 
 Ritmeesters (Captains) Linde and Human arrived in 
 town, and ah'eady early in the morning at 5 o'clock 
 they were assembled at the different alarm posts ; and in 
 addition to these were : 
 
 1 company of Cavalry of Cape Town, 
 
 2 ,, Infantry, 
 
 2 „ Auxiliary Artillery, 
 
 1 „ „ Infantry, 
 
 2 „ Cape Town Riflemen (Jagers). 
 
 At Stellenbosch there were stationed, besides, a com- 
 pany of cavalry under Ritmeester Wium, and one at 
 Wynberg under Ritmeester D. G. van Renen. 
 
 Detachments of the Hottentot infantry, and Malay 
 artillery were successively despatched to Blaauwberg, 
 in order to prevent landing. 
 
 On the 6th, observations of the movements of the 
 English were continued, and further preparations 
 made. 
 
 In the afternoon of the 7th the General left town 
 with the force of 1,457 men above mentioned, to which 
 were added detachments of the burghers under Wium, 
 Linde, and Human, and the command of the town was 
 left to Lieut.-Colonel Baron Yon Prophalver, with the 
 remainder of the forces. 
 
 On the 8th, during the night, heavy firing of muskets 
 was heard in the camp, on the Blaauwberg flats ; this, 
 however, originated with a sergeant who had charge of 
 one of the main posts near the sea, and had got 
 intoxicated. 
 
 The General, who had been reconnoitring the enemy 
 the previous day, estimated their force as 6,000 strong.
 
 •257 
 
 Meanwhile, intelligent officers (on whose information 
 the General could rely) were despatched to watch the 
 movements of the Enghsh ; and it was proposed to 
 inspect them further with the assistance of Colonel 
 Gaudin Bouchere, formerly belonging to the French 
 ship-of-war L'AJlante, lost in Table Bay in November 
 previous, and whose equipage, about 150 strong, had 
 volunteered to join the army of the line when leaving 
 town. But this measure was checked by the intelligence 
 received early in the morning that the enemy were 
 approaching. Everything v/as arranged for battle ; and 
 at 4 o'clock in the morning the right wing of the Dutch 
 army was attacked and manoeuvres were made and execu- 
 ted in the best order. 
 
 A Scotch regiment marched forward in front, and 
 after exchanging shots at a distance, formed a line, and 
 a general discharge of musketry followed. But only a 
 few of the Dutch were struck, on account of the dis- 
 tance. Opportunity was now watched, and the approach 
 of the enemy at a shorter distance looked for, when a 
 general charge was contemplated ; but meanwhile the 
 English brought up six pieces of cannon. General 
 Janssens stood with his staff in front, and a howitzer 
 was thrown between them, and struck the horse of a 
 French Captain Ricard, from Isle de France (who at his 
 request had joined the staff), in one of its legs. 
 
 The General in the meantime rode along the line, 
 encouraging his men to do their duty ; and a general 
 hurrah was heard in reply from the soldiers, but 
 rather low amongst the battalion of Waldek. Expecta- 
 tions however were great, and hope increased. Some 
 howitzers were thrown between them, and created a 
 
 s
 
 258 
 
 great sensation. They occupied the centre and took 
 to flight, and notwithstanding the threatening of officers 
 and the encouraging of the General, hke cowards they 
 fled. They were then abandoned by the chief, to take 
 command again of the other brave troops who had kept 
 the field. He saw to his regret that the left wing of 
 the 22nd battalion also retreated. He then went up to 
 them and exhorted them, by the honour of the mother 
 country and their own reputation, to stand. But the 
 confusion in the army was already so great that it had 
 no eflect, and speedily there was a retreat ; and the 
 General despatched the Commandant Henry to Riet- 
 valley, to stop those who were retreating on their arrival, 
 and however grieved at the fate of the officers, he de- 
 clared the battalion of Waldek unworthy to remain with 
 him any longer, and he ordered them to return to town. 
 
 FROM OFFICIAL RETURNS : 
 
 Strength 
 
 Colonels, 
 
 Lieut. -Colonels, 
 
 Adjutants, . . 
 
 Drum-majors, 
 
 Captains, 
 
 1st Lieutenants, 
 
 2nd ditto, 
 
 Sergeant-majors, 
 
 Sergeants, . . 
 
 Farriers, 
 
 Corporals, . . 
 
 Cadets, 
 
 Drummers, 
 
 ore Battle 
 
 After Battle 
 
 2 
 
 
 1 
 
 3 
 
 
 3 
 
 6 
 
 — 
 
 4 
 
 2 
 
 
 2 
 
 24 
 
 
 15 
 
 32 
 
 
 17 
 
 35 
 
 — 
 
 24 
 
 26 
 
 — 
 
 18 
 
 98 
 
 
 70 
 
 27 
 
 
 16 
 
 168 
 
 — 
 
 106 
 
 15 
 
 
 14 
 
 56 
 
 
 38
 
 cfore Battle 
 
 . After Battle, 
 
 1,457 
 
 
 972 
 
 •2 
 
 
 2 
 
 8 
 
 — 
 
 8 
 
 .94 
 
 
 88 
 
 930 
 
 
 503 
 
 2 
 
 — 
 
 2 
 
 14 
 
 — 
 
 13 
 
 13 
 
 
 12 
 
 259 
 
 Privates, 
 
 Train Officers, 
 
 Commanders, 
 
 Cannon and Wagon-drivers, 
 
 Horses, 
 
 Howitzers, . . 
 
 Field-pieces, 
 
 Caisons, 
 
 And w^ith the remaining force the General retired to 
 Hottentots' Holland, now Sir Lowry's Pass. 
 
 However, the whole was gradually reduced by deser- 
 tion and other casualties to about five hundred men ; 
 supplies also began to fail, and a correspondence was 
 opened between him and the British General Beresford, 
 which led to an honourable capitulation, signed at Hotten- 
 tots' Holland on the 18th January, 1806, by GeneralJans- 
 sens and Brigadier-General Beresford, executed in the 
 presence of the late Sir John Truter and the since Acting 
 Colonial Secretary J. C Smyth, and ratified by Sir 
 David Baird, Major- General and Commander-in-Chief; 
 and Sir Home Popham, Commodore, commanding the 
 naval forces. 
 
 The Batavian troops were to march from their camp 
 within three days, with their guns, arms, and baggage, 
 and with all the honours of war, to Simon's Town, and 
 retain all private property ; and the officers their swords 
 and horses. But their arms, treasure, and all public 
 property, cavalry and artillery horses, were to be de- 
 livered up. In consideration, however, of their gallant 
 conduct, the troops were to be embarked and sent 
 straight to Holland, at the expense of the British Govern- 
 
 s 2
 
 260 
 
 ment, and not to be considered as prisoners of war, and 
 not to serve against the British until after being landed 
 in Holland ; and when embarked to be treated in every 
 respect as British troops. 
 
 Cape Town castle and circumjacent fortifications 
 had previously surrendered, under capitulation dated 
 10th January, 1806, signed by Baron von Prophalver, 
 Sir David Baird, and Sir Home Popham, in the pre- 
 sence of the late Sir John Truter and J. Palmer, at 
 Papendorp, near Fort Knokke. 
 
 According to this capitulation, the garrison was to 
 surrender and march out with all the honours of war ; 
 and then to lay down arms and become prisoners of 
 war; and to be provided with passages at the expense 
 of the British Government ; public property to be 
 faithfully delivered up. 
 
 I cannot help admiring the honourable terms of these 
 capitulations so generously acceded to by the British 
 commanders with respect to the enemy, — brave, but 
 powerless. The account of the battle was taken from 
 authentic documents. 
 
 When the British army landed at Blaauwberg another 
 detachment was sent to Saldanha Bay, and some boats 
 were upset in landing at Blaauwberg strand, and several 
 soldiers drowned. It was believed, at the time, that the 
 casualties on both sides amounted to about eight 
 hundred men. 
 
 The British forces, including the naval, were esti- 
 mated at about twelve thousand. They formed a square 
 (nearly enclosing the whole Parade) of four deep, when 
 the royal salute was fired for the first time after the 
 capitulation. The troops were marched into barracks,
 
 261 
 
 and the naval forces into the castle ; and the gates were 
 locked to prevent disturbance ; and, during the evening 
 and at night, the town was perfectly quiet. 
 
 Thus closed the last administration of the Dutch 
 Government. 
 
 I continued in the office of the Court of Justice, and 
 assisted on extra duty at the office of General Janssens 
 until his departure, in copying and arranging his 
 papers ; and received a letter of thanks in February, 
 1806.
 
 262 
 
 SECTION X. 
 
 As I have closed the preceding section by the proceed- 
 ings of the hist Dutch Governor, I hope to be indulged 
 to return to the first chief, and to allude to part of his 
 government, character, opinions, and principles. 
 
 Jan Anthony van Riebeek, Commander, 
 
 is the man who formed this Settlement, and to his 
 memory I am about offering this tribute, which I trust 
 will not be deemed unacceptable. 
 
 My desire to contribute to that object arose from 
 reading his diary; and some of the events therein- 
 mentioned appeared to me interesting to those desirous 
 of knowing something of the early days of this colony, 
 so I attempted to select from these and other autlientic 
 resources a limited collection, with the view of gratifying 
 the reader's curiosity. 
 
 Principles with regard to civilization and the propa- 
 gation of the Christian religion amongst the aborigines 
 will be found corresponding with those of the present 
 day. 
 
 Refreshments for ships, inland trade, and occupation 
 of land to a limited extent, in order to plant the Settle- 
 ment, seem to have been the primary objects. 
 
 The Government, consisting of the Commander 
 assisted by a Council, appears to have been guided 
 partly by instructions and partly by circumstances as 
 they occurred. In some matters of discipline they were 
 rather grave and arbitrary, according to our present 
 ideas of social order. With regard to the natives, 
 however, inclined to keep peace, but with respect to 
 
 ■t 
 
 I
 
 263 
 
 the colonists, when a tumultuous spirit was shown, the 
 measures adopted appear to have been prompt, border- 
 ing even on severity, in order to check a progress 
 which might have been fatal, and tending to frustrate 
 the whole plan and retard the occupation of the country 
 for many years. 
 
 Without further observation I will now proceed, — 
 hoping that my young countrymen and readers will not 
 regret the moments spent in the perusal of the sketch. 
 
 Van Riebeek was a medical man, and had been about 
 three weeks on shore at the Cape in 1648, when a 
 Dutch fleet anchored in Table Bay, and goods were 
 embarked, saved from the wreck Haerlem. 
 
 With reference to a representation made in 1649 to 
 the directors of the Dutch East India Company, by 
 Leendert Jantz and N. Proot (who had been wrecked in 
 the said ship and spent a season here, and who briefly 
 set forth and explained the service, advantage, and 
 profit which would accrue to that company from build- 
 ing a fort and making a plantation at Cabo de Boa 
 Esperance), van Riebeek submitted on June, 1651, 
 his considerations and reflections upon the said repre- 
 sentation and the project of establishing here a fortress 
 and plantation. 
 
 He drew attention to the spot eligible for a fort close 
 to the Fresh River, on an elevated position, with the view 
 of makino: it defensible — not trustino; the natives, and to 
 fence it in, together with the plantations and pasture 
 grounds. He alluded to the water being procured with 
 so much trouble by the crews of vessels, who, however 
 cold, had to wade in the sea up to the neck to obtain it, 
 X* causing much sickness. He suggested that it might be
 
 264 
 
 improved by means of wooden pipes, or by building a 
 pier, and thus getting it into boats dry, and with one 
 half the trouble and number of men. He also pro- 
 posed the erection of signals, and arming the fort witli 
 large guns, &c. 
 
 The cultivation of the grounds and raising vegetables 
 for the refreshment of ships seems to have been his 
 favourite plan. He compared this country with Japan and 
 the northern parts of China, and considered the breeding 
 of hogs and the trade with the natives in cattle as most 
 advantao;eous. He recommended the settlement as 
 economical for the provisioning of vessels and saving 
 wages of seamen, — as productive of cattle and sheep and 
 wild animals, both large and small (including rabbits), — 
 and held out the prospect of a profitable trade in hides 
 to Batavia and Japan, — of whaling and melting train-oil ; 
 and about the natives he stated in a despatch : 
 
 " With reo'ard to what L. Jantz writes of the natives 
 or their children learning our language, it is deserving of 
 notice, and no less a good thing, and consequently the 
 propagation of our Reformed Christian religion, which 
 he seems to hope is still better ; wherein a good teacher 
 would do the best service if your Honours were pleased 
 to consent to an expense, which is calculated also to 
 tend to the better edification of your servants to be 
 stationed here." 
 
 He then tendered his services in hopes of promotion 
 to India, and proceeded with three vessels, Reyger 
 (Heron), Goede Hoop (Good Hope), and Dromedaris 
 to the Cape, under special instructions dated March, 
 1651; being chiefly —to land, build a fort and lodge, 
 to select a proper piece of land for a garden, and
 
 265 
 
 grounds best suited for depasturing and breeding cattle, 
 to keep up a good correspondence and intelligence with 
 the natives, to erect beacons of occupation, and having 
 all ships, as they arrived, piloted by boats to the best 
 anchorage, and to settle; — chiefly to provide the passing 
 and repassing East India ships with refreshments, so as 
 to avoid touching at St. Helena. 
 
 The land was made on the 5th of April, 165*2 ; the first 
 party landed on the 6th, and the first act of authority of 
 van Riebeek " as senior merchant and on behalf of the 
 Directors of the East India Company, commander of 
 the fortress to be constructed, ships and concerns, also 
 over their possessions to be settled at Caho cle Bond 
 Esperance and his council," was the proclamation of 9th 
 April, 1652. 
 
 He served his employers faithfully, and exercised his 
 experience and industry in execution of the intentions 
 of the general company ; and their instructions from 
 that date to the 2d of April, 1662, when his successor 
 Zacharias Weigenaar arrived and was welcomed. 
 
 There can be iio doubt that seeing the misery suffered 
 by the seafaring men from scorbutic and other diseases, 
 and long voyages without refreshments (and particularly 
 as a medical man), van Riebeek moved by compassion 
 and humanity was induced to make his representations ; 
 and the necessity was obvious, for even subsequent to 
 the occupation there were several instances of vessels 
 arriving with forty, fifty, sixty, and even one hundred men 
 suffering from disease, besides numbers of lives lost during 
 the voyage ; and it is indeed gratifying to find from his 
 diary how many were here restored to health, — since 
 vegetables could be produced and ships provided with
 
 266 
 
 fresh meat and water. And to the great Benefactor 
 of mankind only is known the extent of misery 
 reheved by the instrumentaUty of this man, — the origi- 
 nator and founder of the great hospital required and estab- 
 lished by his exertions in this southern part of the globe. 
 
 It is true also that he seems to have been anxious to 
 exert himself for the benefit of his employers, and thus 
 to be distinguished as their servant, with the view of 
 being promoted. But soon indeed had he reason to 
 regret the holding of such a responsible situation, for 
 already in April, 1653, we find him earnestly praying 
 the directors in the following terms : " That your Honours 
 will think of removing me hence to India and to some 
 better and higher employment, in order that in due 
 time and in consideration of better services than I can 
 find here, I may earn promotion ; for amongst these 
 dull, stupid (botte plompe), lazy, stinking -people, little 
 address is required, such as with the Japanese, Ton- 
 quinese, and other precise nations thereabout, who, as I 
 have experienced in my ten years service, give enough to 
 do to the brains of the cleverest Dutchman.' He further 
 applied to have not only the title, but rank, as comman- 
 der, and to receive the usual emolument of one hundred 
 and fifty guilders (£11 5s.) per mensem, under an 
 instrument in debeta forma, and stated : " I shall hold 
 myself fully rewarded and satisfied for the services 
 which I have done here to the utmost of my ability ; 
 hoping that in reaching India through your favour, I 
 shall render you services of somewhat more importance 
 than I have here field for," &c. 
 
 By a despatch of the Chamber of XVII, of September, 
 1662, it appears, however, that the salary drawn by
 
 267 
 
 van Riebeek was only one tiundred and thirty guilders 
 (£9 15s.) monthly ; and, notwithstanding his above 
 application, he was not released before having served 
 full ten years. 
 
 In a despatch from the Council to the said Chamber 
 of 9th April, 1662, the following passage is found, 
 which shows the character he bore amongst his contem- 
 poraries : 
 
 " And as the said Commander Riebeek is now enter- 
 ing upon the third year beyond his second engagement, 
 and thus upon the eleventh year of the service of this 
 place, in ivhich time he has, under God, comber ted this 
 Cape from a barren waste to a desirable place of 
 refreshment, where a sufficiency of fruit may always be 
 had for the refreshment of crews of your outward and 
 homeward-bound fleets, besides the cattle which are 
 occasionally purchased in abundance from the inhabi- 
 tants with whom ice are now on the best terms, through 
 which we have also so far advanced your object, namely 
 the cultivation of corn :" — (here follows an enumeration 
 of the different fruits produced and flourishing in a 
 place that was found a dry waste) : — " and as we are 
 not aware that we have ever left anything untried : — and 
 as by your letter of 30th September last year, you have 
 been pleased to state that the work is now in order and 
 brought on a good footing there : — your said most obedient 
 and dutiful servant the Commander van Riebeek most 
 humbly prays, that in consideration of his long services 
 here, you will be pleased at length to favour him with 
 such a thankworthy augmentation, especially in rank 
 and salary, as may more and more bind him to your 
 service." Thus recommended to his superiors he parted, 
 and sailed for Batavia on the 7th May, 1662, and hold
 
 268 
 
 the situation of Director of the Settlement at Malacca 
 from October, 1662 to October, 1665, and subse- 
 quently other engagements. One of his sons, Abraham 
 van Riebeek, — born at the Cape on the 18th of October, 
 1653, — was Governor-General over the Dutch possessions 
 in the East Indies in 1709. He received his education 
 in Holland ; held several important situations at Batavia 
 from 1676 to the 30th October, 1709, when he was pro- 
 moted to be Governor-General ; and died on the 17th 
 November, 1713. He icas the second child horn at the 
 Cape of European parents ; and as a distinguished 
 South African did honour to his native country. 
 
 Mr. van Riebeek did not depart without leaving to his 
 successor a memorandum for his information and guid- 
 ance ; it mentions that the Company's first object had 
 been attained, — that in addition to other refreshments 
 there was a good prospect of fruit in time (particularly 
 from vines and olives), — that the corn-lands turned out 
 much poorer than was expected ; and it alluded to the 
 trade and condition of the Cape tribes. 
 
 The names and number of the tribes bordering on 
 the colony I will merely mention — as curious and un- 
 known to most of my readers, and to be preserved as a 
 geographical description of the country on its first 
 establishment ; they are as follows : 
 
 1. The Goringhaiconas, under Capt. Harry, 18 men ; 
 
 2. The Goringhaiquas or Caepmans, under Gogosoa, 
 
 300 men ; 
 
 3. The Garachouquas (tobacco thieves), under Chow, 
 
 600 or 700 men ; 
 
 4. The Cochoquas, in two divisions, one under Oedason, 
 
 the other under Gounema, distinguished as 
 Saldanhars, 1,000 men ;
 
 269 
 
 5. The little Chario-uriquas, subject to Oedason, 300 
 
 men. (All these exclusive of women and 
 children). 
 
 6. The Namaquas, who are favourably mentioned ; 
 
 7. The Charnouquas, under a Choque or King, Souson. 
 
 8. The Heusaquas, mentioned as rich and friendly to 
 
 the last tribe, and inclined to trade ; 
 
 9. The Hamcumquas, stated to be the greatest and 
 
 most poweiful of all the race of greasy Hotten- 
 tots ; the chief is entitled Choebaha, which seems 
 to mean Emperor (taken from the records) ; 
 
 10. Chamaquas, 
 
 11. Omaquas, 
 
 12. Atiquas, . Vsubsisting like the Hamcumquas ; 
 
 1 3. Housunquas, 
 
 14. Chariquas, 
 
 15. Choboqua, or Cobona, residing in fixed houses of 
 
 wood, clay, or other materials. 
 
 Amongst other matters, van Riebeek, touching upon 
 these natives in the memorandum to his successor, states : 
 
 " Nothing is more serviceahh to the Company than 
 peace with the Hottentots. 
 
 " It being above all things necessary that you always 
 endeavour to live in constant peace with the Hottentots, 
 one tribe as well as the other, not only that the roads 
 may be everywhere safe to facilitate further discoveries, 
 but also that the tribes above named may always be able 
 to come down without apprehension, with their cattle, 
 for the refreshment of the crews of the Company's ships. 
 
 " To this object, in the first place, a more than 
 usually liberal reception will much contribute, and 
 especially if little squabbles occurring between our
 
 270 
 
 people (particularly the ships' people and them), be not 
 too seriously taken up, but rather passed over occasion- 
 all}'^, as if in ignorance (especially at first), or otherwise 
 they would become so shy that they would flee inland 
 with all they possess, making the other tribes so shy 
 also that they would keep away altogether, and you 
 would thus find yourselves in a moment deprived, not 
 only of daily barter with the Saldanhars, but also of the 
 trade with all the other tribes before named. The best 
 advice, therefore, that I am able to give you in this 
 matter is, that you keep your attention constantly fixed, 
 steadfast as a wall, to this point, to live without 
 the slightest estrangement from your neighbours here, 
 the Caepmans, or Goringhaiquas, and the tobacco thieves, 
 or Garachouquas, as well as with Oedason, the king of 
 the Saldanhars, which may be effected, beside the friendly 
 treatment aforesaid, by keeping a sharp and strict 
 watch by mounted or other guards (already brought so 
 far into order) over the Company's live-stock and that 
 belonging to the freemen, that a fair opportunity of 
 driving them off is never afforded the natives without 
 exposing their lives to danger; for should they have even 
 the least chance of success, they could not refrain from 
 the attempt, and on this account a very close watch will 
 be always required here. 
 
 " Au reste. — That when they sometimes perceive 
 some simple greenhorn from the ships going to some 
 retired spot (ergens achter atf lopende kyker), and rob 
 him of his tobacco, bread, and brass or iron buttons 
 from his clothes, it is not a matter of such mighty import- 
 ance but that it may be easily arranged. The quarrels 
 also which occur between them and the ship-people 
 
 I
 
 271 
 
 more than with those who are resident here (and which 
 proceed perhaps to the lenoth of pelting each other 
 with stones), ought not to be too gravely regarded, for 
 our men, who, when playing and wresthng (stoeijende) 
 with them, sometimes get thumped a little harder than 
 they will bear, and are thus provoked to abuse them, 
 and call them black, stinking dogs, &c., are themselves 
 m a great measure the cause. For the natives fully 
 understand these and other Dutch words, and so forth, 
 so that I will add that our common people are often 
 found, when out of our sight, to be the first cause 
 of many disputes (questien) which are sometimes at- 
 tended with trouble in order to restore tranquillity 
 among these natives ; and this may be best accomplished 
 by a show of injustice (ongelyk) towards our people, 
 paying the others by a kindly promise of inflicting 
 some kind of punishment on our men on board of their 
 ships. 
 
 " And although this course appears to many of our 
 people somewhat improper, it is nevertheless most abso- 
 lutely necessary, in order that we may live in peace and 
 quiet, and I have therefore always pursued this line of 
 conduct, and enforced it upon others ; and whatever 
 better course you may be able to adopt, cannot fail to 
 be still more serviceable to the Company, for in the 
 event of disagreement you will not be able to keep a 
 single Hottentot here or hereabouts, and therefore 
 friendship with those who have been herein named, 
 should be kept in mind as one of the principal maxims ; 
 in which case the trade will not only continue to flourish 
 more and more, but the roads also will be safe for 
 travelling in every direction, to search for what has not
 
 272 
 
 been hitherto found, and as before observed, the Direc- 
 tors and their Honours at Batavia will be thus best 
 satisfied, for it may be seen from the public and private 
 letters from both quarters, that journeys for the purpose 
 of discovery are not disapproved, but expressly ordered 
 to be prosecuted with every assiduity, and therefore so 
 far from dissuading you from continuing them at fitting 
 seasons of the monsoon, I would most earnestly recom- 
 mend their being prosecuted with vigour at the seasons 
 before mentioned." 
 
 I have given this part of the memorandum at full 
 length to show the pohcy and original peaceable dispo- 
 sition of our first ruler towards the natives, in order to 
 remove impressions which may be entertained to the 
 contrary. 
 
 I would feel inclined to give a biographical sketch of 
 this remarkable man's life, but no sufficient particulars 
 could be traced previous to his proceeding and com- 
 mencement of this Settlement. It would be, I feel 
 confident, as acceptable as that of the great founder of 
 Pennsylvania, the famous William Penn, who soon after 
 (namely, 1st September, 1682) set sail with about one 
 hundred emigrants, mostly Quakers (of whom only 
 seventy arrived) on board, to lay the foundation of that 
 colony now so flourishing in America. 
 
 In order to spare details which are amply given in 
 the Zuid Afrikaanschc Tydschrift and Mr. Hoodie's 
 valuable records (from which I derived some of the 
 above and subsequent information, and which may be 
 of little interest at this distant period), I shall merely 
 confine myself to a few passages illustrative of van 
 Riebeeks character.
 
 273 
 
 He appears to have been a man who respected reli- 
 gion. His first prayer, — his ordering regular service on 
 the Sabbath, which he signifies by the name of " ser- 
 moen," — his note on Sunday, 12th May, 1652, viz., " In 
 the unthatched part of the house within the square of 
 the incomplete fort, Domini Boukens, minister, arrived 
 per the Walvisch (Whale) delivered the first sermon, and 
 celebrated the Lord's Holy Supper ; the Almighty be 
 pleased to grant His gracious blessing on that our work, 
 Amen," — and several other passages in his diary, from 
 which his hope and trust in the power of Providence 
 so distinctly appears, proves his religious tendency and 
 disposition. 
 
 On the 6th of April, 1654, he noted : — " This is the 
 second anniversary of our safe arrival at this place, 
 under God's holy guidance, with the ships Drommedary, 
 Heron, and Good Hope, to build and establish this fort 
 and colony, according to the orders of our lords and 
 masters ; and as the Lord God in all these matters, until 
 this date, granted many blessings so that it succeeded 
 well and prospered according to desire, ~ it is resolved, 
 and for the first time commenced, to celebrate this day, 
 being the 6th of April, in honor of God, and with 
 thanksgiving, so that it be instituted for ever as a fixed 
 day of thanksgiving and prayer, and that thus the 
 benefits granted to us by the Lord may not be forgotten 
 by our posterity, but always kept in memory and com- 
 memoration to the glory of God ! ' 
 
 He set apart the 26th of June, 1654, to be a day 
 of fasting and prayer under the sufierings of the people 
 from sickness and ill-health. Such days appear to have 
 been frequently ordered under affliction and calamity.
 
 274 
 
 One of his stringent regulations to support religious 
 customs and devotional duties was also issued, purpor- 
 ting : — That as some of the people were living so 
 ungodly, that, as pigs to the trough, they went to dinner 
 without prayer and thanksgiving, the gaoler or police 
 officer should take his rounds when the cook served his 
 meals, in order to fine those whom he found neglecting 
 this Christian usage, — for the first time, a quarter real, 
 the second, a half real, and the third, quadruple, 
 besides arbitrary correction. Here, however, we must do 
 him the justice to consider of what material the people 
 were then composed. 
 
 As a first step to introduce religion amongst the 
 natives, he took, shortly after his arrival, into his family 
 a little Hottentot girl, Eva. Mrs. van Riebeek taught 
 her the language so that she could speak it as a Dutch 
 girl, and gave her religious instruction. When grown 
 up she was allowed to visit, and was in the habit of 
 visiting, from time to time the native tribes, but she on 
 such occasions assumed her former habits and dress. 
 
 On one occasion, the 29th October, 1658, she re- 
 turned and related, "that being detained by the illness 
 of herself and her sister, wife of the chief Oedosa, she 
 had taught and instructed her how we are to pray to 
 our beloved Lord. That this had been received by all 
 these people with tears in their eyes, and not ridiculed 
 as by the chief Doman and other of the Caepmans." 
 
 On another occasion, when returning from a visit on 
 the 23rd December, 1658, to the fort, with some of the 
 Cochoquas, she made up her mind not to visit them 
 again for some time, on account of the drought and 
 danger from lions ; and to make a stay with the view of
 
 275 
 
 learning" our religion, and at the request of her sister 
 and brother-in-law and more people, who, according to 
 her statement, " had already adopted and felt in their 
 hearts, that what she had taught them about God and 
 His service was true, and consequently had several 
 young children instructed by her, and that she taught 
 them to pray before and after dinner, and when going 
 to bed and rising, and to thank God, &c. ; and when 
 she spoke about our religion (some of them laughing) 
 the Chief Oedosa had interfered, and by his authority 
 caused that they were obliged to hear it with devotion, 
 not daring to laugh, and some apprehending that what 
 she said was good, so that several of Oedosa s people 
 at his and his wife's request, attended her to be in 
 company with the commander, namely, sisters and 
 brothers, and their little children to be left here, that 
 they might be taught from childhood/' And conse- 
 quently at the request of Eva, nine of these people were 
 admitted to the evening prayer, and allowed to lodge at 
 night in the fort. 
 
 This, then, is the first account of the introduction of 
 our religion amongst the natives, and adrnission to a 
 Christian prayer meeting ; the meaning, I suppose, was 
 translated by Eva, and this is, therefore, the primitive 
 attempt of missionary labour by a female Hottentot ; 
 and in order further to cultivate a good understanding 
 with this tribe, Eva returned with a party, consisting of 
 the Ensign van Harwarden and fifteen soldiers, and 
 presents to the chief of the Cochocjuas, consisting of 
 copper, beads, pipes, and tobacco, a case of Spanish 
 brandy, and beer, bread, spices, and sugar loaded on a 
 pack -ox. 
 
 T 2
 
 276 
 
 Van Riebeek finally encouraged the instruction of 
 slaves. On the 17th of April, 1658, he commenced to ., 
 arrange the keeping of a school for the male and female l| 
 Angola slaves, in the morning and evening under a 
 Catechist ( Zkkentrooster ) , Pieter van der Stael, being 
 well versed in reading the Dutch language, and to 
 encourage them to go to school and listen to, or learn,' 
 prayers. He ordered that after closing school, they 
 should receive a (musje) small dram of brandy, and two 
 inches of tobacco, — that their names should be registered, 
 and that to old and young, married and unmarried, names 
 (having none) should be given in the presence of himself. 
 He proposed to attend this school personally for some 
 days, so as to establish order and regularity, to which they 
 seemed inclined, and they were each properly clothed. 
 
 These instances amongst others will, I trust be 
 sufficient to establish the character of the founder of the 
 colony as a practical Christian, and a man peaceably 
 inclined towards the coloured races. 
 
 It appears to me that he opened the communication 
 with the natives, and in order to approach them on 
 friendly terms, availed himself of the services and inter- 
 pretations of: 
 
 1. Harry, a Hottentot chief, then known by the 
 
 English as " King Harry," who had made a 
 voyage to India and visited Bantam, and spoke 
 broken English. 
 
 2. DouMAN, a native, who had been to Batavia with 
 
 the Commissioner van Goens, and understood 
 the Dutch language perfectly. 
 
 3. Eva, abovementioned, a Hottentot girl, who had 
 
 been educated in his own family.
 
 277 
 
 Harry distinguished liimself by being the first who 
 resided near the fort, and showed the way to the top of 
 Table Mountain on the 29th September, 1652 ; and by 
 introducing, on the 9th of October following, two Sal- 
 danha Hottentots, and the next day, twelve or fourteen 
 others, to whom were added on the 12th, about twenty 
 more, these were kindly received and treated with wine 
 and tobacco. 
 
 On the 20th of the same month, the trade already 
 commenced, and three cows were bartered with copper 
 and tobacco to the value of twenty-one stivers and 
 twelve pennies, and four sheep at ten stivers and one 
 and a half penny ; and two lambs at five stivers ten 
 pennies (penningen) each. 
 
 Harry took great credit to himself in these transac- 
 tions, and claimed a reward of a plate of copper of one 
 pound for each head of cattle, in the shape of brokerage. 
 This however appeared strange; so that the commander, 
 for this, and other reasons, began to suspect Harry ^ and 
 to think that it would be better to trade without his 
 interference. 
 
 Without entering further on the details of trade, 
 suffice it to say that the natives continued at intervals 
 to supply cattle and sheep until van Riebeek left ; 
 copper, beads, and iron seemed to have been the chief 
 articles of trade, whilst brandy, tobacco, arrack, bread, 
 and biscuit were added, as inducements to increase the 
 traffic. 
 
 Such was the good feeling already established on the 
 23rd of the same month, that Harry made his appear- 
 ance again with three or four other,s, and brought two 
 beautiful Eland heads with horns as a present.
 
 278 
 
 The suspicion about Harrys conduct was confirmed, 
 when, before the close of 1652, he twice ndvised the 
 commander (once at dinner) to attack a tribe, the 
 Fishnen, and entrap them, and kill them, women and 
 children, and capture their cattle, and to call in the 
 assistance of two other tribes. The commander, how- 
 ever, had the prudence to avoid this application by an 
 evasive answer, and, finally, by a declaration that he 
 and his people declined to entertain the proposal, having 
 come here to trade and not to harm anybody, and to 
 live in peace and on friendly terms with all. 
 
 At the latter end of 1()52, thousands of head of cattle 
 and sheep were seen near the fort, but the natives 
 declined bartering for any. Van Riebeek observing 
 them and not succeeding in the trade, and having on 
 the whole but eighty-eight head of cattle and two 
 hundred and sixty-nine sheep, could not help, in a fit 
 of despondency to speculate on the possibility of easily 
 capturing a number of the cattle grazing under the 
 care of but few unarmed men, and the advantage that 
 would thereby accrue to the Settlement ; but he closed 
 with the remark, that it required more thought and 
 wiser consideration than theirs, which were slightly 
 stated ; and that better experience was wanted to 
 inquire and deliberate on the subject, — besides orders 
 expected from higher authority. If it had been per- 
 mitted, at least ten thousand could have been captured ; 
 the natives showing such good faith and confidence. 
 
 The first year closed with bartering a few oxen and 
 sheep, and a battle was fought between the SaldanhaK 
 and Fishmen ; four of the latter were killed. Applica- 
 tion was made by the first to assist, but this was evaded
 
 279 
 
 by the commander, he being- anxious to be on good 
 terms with both. 
 
 Without further entering into details with regard to 
 van Riebeek's proceedings up to the date of his depar- 
 ture (since they are copiously noted in the collections 
 in the Tydschrift (periodical) and by Mr. Moodie, and 
 my object abovementioned has I consider been attained), 
 I will close this sketch by relating how that man's 
 services were estimated in later days, when the Dutch, 
 in 1803, resumed the government of this colony. 
 
 His coat of arms was introduced at the Town-house 
 in Cape Town, on the 2nd of July, 1804, and granted by 
 the Commissary-General Mr. J. A. de Mist, L.L.D., to 
 the inhabitants, to remember in gratitude the first 
 founder and governor of the Colony. 
 
 The Burgher Senate observed this day, on which the 
 arms were publicly presented, with all solemnity. 
 
 The Senate assembled, with the Attorney-General, at 
 9 o'clock in the mornino-. The p'reat national standard 
 was hoisted at the castle; the president and secretary of 
 the Senate, escorted by dragoons, proceeded to the 
 castle, to convey the Commissary-General ; and a depu- 
 tation of two members and a secretary waited on the 
 Governor and Commander-in-Chief and councillors of 
 the Court of Policy to accompany them to the Town- 
 house. On their arrival, the president, Mr. J. J. Vos, 
 made an appropriate speech, to which the Commissary- 
 General graciously replied. 
 
 A guard of honour of grenadiers attended, and the 
 new arms were exposed in and outside of the Town- 
 house. It consisted of three golden rings on a red field, 
 resting on an anchor, representing the Hope on a gold
 
 280 
 
 surface, and trumpets and music sounded whilst the 
 Commissary-General, conducted by the full Senate, left 
 — under a salute of twenty-one guns. 
 
 The Senate gave that day a sumptuous dinner, and 
 the Commissary-General, the Governor, the Court of 
 Policy, and their Secretaries, Heads and Presidents of 
 Departments, Clergymen, and several functionaries 
 attended, and were cordially and hospitably enter- 
 tained ; and in the evening the Town-house was 
 illuminated. 
 
 The President thanked the Commissary-General for 
 granting the arms of the brave Riebeek, the founder of 
 the Colony, in appropriate terms, and for the Senate as 
 representatives of the Burghers addressed the Gover- 
 nor, with assurances of loyalty, and hoped that by 
 encouragement of agriculture, trade, and navigation, 
 and useful sciences, the colony might be relieved of its 
 financial embarrassment. 
 
 The Commissary-General returned a graceful speech 
 to these addresses, alluded to the gratitude due by 
 posterity on the occasion to revive the memory of this 
 brave man — Johan Anthon van Rieheek ; and the object 
 of establishing this colony. He expressed his desire to 
 name Cape Town, Rieheek s Town, if there were not 
 reasons connected with trade, &c., to the contrary. 
 He alluded to the gold surface on which the anchor 
 rested, as expressive of his wish for the wealth and 
 welfare of the Colony, and named van Rieheek the 
 father and founder. He exhorted the Senate and 
 Burghers to be in unity in repelling the enemy 
 from without and within ; and concluded by wishing 
 permanent prosperity to Rieheek s Town.
 
 281 
 
 Several toasts were given on the occasion, such as : 
 ^^Prosperity and Success to the Colony and its Capital," 
 '''■The Burghers of the City" '■'■All in power" '■'■Commerce 
 and Navigation" '■^Agriculture" ^^Instructors of Youth ;" 
 and finally, " The brave van Rieheek, may his memory 
 never he forgotten by an ungrateful posterity."
 
 282 
 
 SECTION XI. 
 
 One of the first measures which General Baird 
 adopted was to call upon the inhabitants of the country 
 districts, not only to remain quietly and peaceably on 
 their farms, but to continue with their harvest, and 
 though the intercourse with the country was restrained 
 whilst General Janssens had not surrendered, yet Mr. 
 Jacobus Johannes Vos, president of the Burgher Senate, 
 was authorized to grant passes to bakers' wagons, &c., 
 countersigned in the castle, and the inhabitants were 
 further enjoined not to aiford any assistance or attend 
 to the orders of General Janssens, and to return to their 
 places on pain of confiscation ; and they were warned 
 against the inevitable misery of a protracted warfare in 
 the bosom of the colony. 
 
 The next step was the taking of the oath of allegiance 
 to his Britannic Majesty by the acting as well as the 
 late members of the several boards and civil officers, 
 and also by the principal inhabitants of the country. 
 
 And to establish civil authority, the General appointed 
 His Majesty's Fiscal (Attorney-General) Willem Ste- 
 phanus van Ryneveld, Esq., to be his Majesty's chief 
 civil magistrate and counsellor in this Settlement, and 
 to execute all the immediate duties of the civil admin- 
 istration under his superintendence and direction ; and 
 all persons were directed to attend to his orders and 
 directions in the same manner as if issued by himself 
 
 This gentleman was a South African who had never 
 been out of the colony, but he raised himself by talent 
 and application, so that he was intrusted with the 
 highest offices, and employed in matters of great
 
 283 
 
 importance ; he has been secretary to the court of 
 justice, fiscal, president of the orphan chamber, and of 
 the court of justice. 
 
 His position as fiscal and pubHc prosecutor was 
 most tryino- under the disturbances of the country, but 
 to the interests of Government he firmly adhered. 
 
 He was a great promoter of agriculture by counten- 
 ance and example, and advocated the introduction of 
 the Spanish and merino sheep into the colony, and the 
 conversion of the Cape sheep into wool-growing, and 
 wrote an interesting pamphlet, printed in 1S05, on that 
 and other subjects connected with agriculture, trade, 
 and finance. 
 
 When in 1811 the Governor Lord Caledon created 
 the establishment of circuits in the country, his Excel- 
 lency directed that a commi'ssion of the court of justice 
 (to which two members for the purpose were added) 
 should once within the year, or oftener, make a circuit 
 to the most distant districts, Mr. van Ryneveld joined 
 the first circuit as president. 
 
 His sudden death in 1812 was much regretted, and 
 the Government Gazette expressed it in the following 
 terms : " The public will learn with the deepest sorrow 
 the decease on Friday, 14th instant (August), of \y. S. 
 van Byneveld, Esq., president of the court of justice, 
 orphan chamber, &c. 
 
 " The unrivalled qualities of this respected magis- 
 trate and virtuous man were so well known that it does 
 not require more than to state his death, to draw from 
 eveiy voice the acknowledgment of his irreparable 
 loss to this colony.
 
 284 
 
 " His life was spent in the direct pursuit to exalt the 
 state of his native place, and his excellent understand- 
 ing, urged on by enlightened and enlarged views 
 upon all subjects so peculiar to himself, eminently 
 fitted him to extend the real interest of this rising- 
 settlement. 
 
 " In the dispensation of justice from his superior 
 seat, it was his unceasing wish and the last great 
 employment of his mind ' that right should be done 
 to every man,' careless of distinction or consequence, 
 not within the ordinary spheres of action and observa- 
 tion alone, but that this great principle, equally of 
 nature and policy, should be general, and know no 
 bounds but the wide limits of our dominion. 
 
 " The judge, the statesman, the confidential adviser, 
 and the disinterested supporter of government were all 
 acknowledged in him ; but these high qualifications 
 were even inferior to the man of amiable and social life. 
 His friends, his family, his wife, children, and depen- 
 dents will never forget the cheerful companion, the kind 
 and benevolent master ; his public and private virtues 
 ran so near a course, the public eye of humanity cannot 
 sav where was the leading passion which was foremost 
 in his earthly race. 
 
 " Merit so various and alike conspicuous will ever 
 remain the boast and pride of the Cape of Good Hope. 
 Here he was born, educated, and solely passed his life. 
 But such were his gifts from nature, the greatness of 
 his mind, and the goodness of his heart, he wanted not 
 the aid of travel ; and instead of receiving example 
 from the range of distant climes, he will give it to
 
 285 
 
 other countries, and where his character reaches, honour 
 and distinction will be the claim of this settlement/' 
 
 He was buried on the Sunday following. His Excel- 
 lency the Governor, the Major-General commanding 
 and staff, the great body of the clergy, and all the 
 civil officers, led the solemn procession, minute guns 
 firing at stated intervals. The whole of the inhabitants 
 of all grades in this city (Cape Town) came forth, united 
 in the performance of the last melancholy duties to that 
 great and good man. 
 
 He had a commanding figure, pleasing countenance, 
 and lively eye, was cheerfully and socially disposed, and 
 attached to his pubhc duties ; he enjoyed the implicit 
 confidence of his superiors and was much respected by 
 his inferiors. 
 
 When a young man I used often to visit the family. 
 His eldest son, the present civil commissioner of 
 Stellenbosch, Mr. Daniel Johannes van Ryneveld, was 
 my youthful companion ; and the kindness I received at 
 the house of this gentleman when in town on occasional 
 visits is still gratefully remembered. 
 
 When in 1808 I had an offer to join one of the 
 practitioners and advocates before the court, and applied 
 to him for advice, he kindly opened the prospects in 
 the service and dissuaded me ; and that was the causp, 
 fortunately, that I continued in the public service. 
 
 The correspondence between him and my father 
 proved to me, since their demise, that they were on 
 intimate terms, and entertained a mutual regard. 
 
 I hope that this digression will be indulged, as I still 
 feel for the friend of my parent and the highly meri- 
 torious and distinguished countryman.
 
 2«G 
 
 And now, to return again to further public proceed- 
 ings witnessed by me of anterior date, I will resume 
 and continue the period following immediately after the 
 surrender ; and state that, anxious to see my parents 
 and visit my intended (to whom I was then engaged, 
 and who resided at Stellenbosch in the family of Mr. 
 J. C. Faure), I proceeded thither. At the foot of the 
 hill (Papegay Berg), just before reaching the viUage, 
 the English troops had encamped. In passing I was 
 stopped, but, intimating my anxiety to see my relations, 
 allowed to pass. His Majesty's troops had then taken 
 possession of the drostdy (district) ; this was about three 
 days after the capitulation of the town and citadel. 
 
 Sir David Baird, whilst in pursuit of the Dutch army, 
 to effect completely the purpose of his expedition (but 
 disposed to proceed with the inhabitants on a friendly 
 footing in every respect), made it known, that fore- 
 seeing the dreadful consequences which must ensue to 
 the inhabitants from a warfare in the bosom of the colony, 
 he would still endeavour to prevent those calamities. 
 
 Under the orders he had received to afford to all 
 inhabitants peace and protection, he ordered the General 
 in command at Stellenbosch to enter into negotiation 
 with General Janssens, who, with a detachment of his 
 troops, had retired amongst the mountains of Hottentots' 
 Holland, and he stated : "I am ready to make the said 
 General with his small party of brave troops the most 
 honourable proposals of capitulation as far as it may be 
 consistent with my honour, but should I not be able to 
 effect this purpose, I shall have recourse to arms." 
 
 He exhorted the inhabitants as their lawful Comman- 
 der-in-Chief, as their father and protector, to feel with
 
 287 
 
 him what their interest was, peace, unanimity, obedience 
 to the laws, hoping not to be reduced to the disagreeable 
 necessity of having recourse to the severity of the laws. 
 
 This had the desired effect; the capitulation of General 
 Janssens (before mentioned) was completed as intended, 
 and peace and tranquillity soon restored. 
 
 I have noticed these particulars to show how the 
 present British administration commenced in this 
 colony, and because my future career was therewith so 
 closely connected. 
 
 Under the constitution of the British court (of which 
 first Mr. Olof Godlieb de Wet, and afterwards Mr. van 
 Ryneveld, was president), I continued in the office of 
 the court, of which Mr. Gerard Bealaerts van Blokland, 
 LL.D., formerly Attorney-General, was secretary ; and 
 in April, 1807, I received under his recommendation 
 my first promotion in that office. It is due to that 
 gentleman to state (who went afterwards to Holland and 
 was there a Minister of Finance) that by his selecting me 
 from time to time to do duty in extra hours out of 
 office, and by employing me to copy the records of the 
 court (of which there are several volumes in my hand- 
 writing at present in the office of the Registrar of the 
 Supreme Court), and other extra duties, coupled with 
 his guidance, that I had the advantage of obtaining a 
 more extensive insight into matters connected with the 
 judicial department ; added to which, I kept in spare 
 hours in the evening — in order to improve my know- 
 ledge in notarial practice — the protocol of Mr. Gerrit 
 Buyskes, my former secretary under the Batavian 
 court, and then an advocate and notary public in 
 practice. He was since president of the court of 
 justice at Batavia.
 
 288 
 
 Meanwhile I resolved to enter into the matrimonial 
 state, and on Sunday, the 4th of May, 1806, I married 
 my present wife (then Miss Jjumetta Johanna Blancken- 
 berg), and we have been blessed with seventeen children, 
 of whom twelve were sons. 
 
 In those days a marriage in the village was a remark- 
 able event. During the weeks between the proclama- 
 tion of banns, daily visits of congratulation were 
 received in the afternoon and evenings, when the 
 visitors were treated with sweets and delicacies, tea, 
 coffee, &c., and their wishes (expressed for the future 
 happiness of the young bride and bridegroom. 
 
 On the Saturday before marriage we had to appear 
 before the matrimonial court, and seated in a " vis-d- 
 visj' which the landdrost, Mr. van der Riet, had kindly 
 supplied (there was then no other carriage in the vilUige). 
 The coachman, his whip, and horses, were decorated 
 with ribbons, &c., according to custom. We proceeded 
 to the Drostdy House from the house of Mr. Jacobus 
 Faure, whose lady was the bride's sister. Having been 
 ushered with the usual ceremony into the court-room, 
 and appeared in due form before the court, and an- 
 swered the usual queries satisfactorily, the secretary — 
 my old friend, Mr. Wege — was authorized to forward 
 the certificate required for the solemnization of the 
 nuptials. 
 
 We repaired again to Mr. Faure's residence, and 
 beyond that to my parents Z,a Gratitude, and were 
 there met by relatives and friends, receiving their cordial 
 congratulations, and I cannot recollect how many kisses. 
 We had a comfortable family dinner; "our health 
 and prosperity" was the toast given by my then 
 happy father, with his blessing. The day and evening
 
 289 
 
 were cheerfully spent in the family circle, and we joined 
 cordially in the juvenile amusements of the evening, — 
 for the bridegroom was but nineteen and the bride 
 eighteen years of age. 
 
 The bride was then (for the last time as such) con- 
 veyed to her home in the evening, and took a farewell 
 of her young companions, to enter the next day into 
 that state which would separate her from their juvenile 
 society, and to connect her future intercourse with that 
 of the married, and assume the more serious avocations 
 of matrimonial life. The last visits received during the 
 bridal days were generally considered as parting from 
 the young and unmarried associates, and taking the 
 higher degree of a married woman, and an admission 
 into the society of those already mothers and heads of 
 families, and to enter upon the duties of the household. 
 
 The Sunday morning dawned and was beautiful, calm, 
 and serene ; all about me seemed sharing in my happi- 
 ness. Parents, sisters, and brothers, my good old nurse 
 Leonora (in fact all belonging to the family), met me 
 when dressed for the occasion, with cheerful counte- 
 nances, and these expressed unmistakably their kind 
 wishes. Before chuch time the vis-a-vis made its 
 appearance again in front of our house, and conveyed 
 me to the bride, where 1 met an assembly of relatives 
 and friends, and amongst them as " best man," the bride's 
 only brother, Mr. Carel Gerhard Blanckenberg, and as 
 bridesmaid, my eldest sister, Aletta Jacoba (now widow 
 of the late Colonel A. Cameron), both still living; and at 
 the third ringing of the bell, we proceeded in the same 
 carriage to our old church, passing many of my young 
 companions with smiling countenances, and receiving 
 their salutations in the street. 
 
 u
 
 290 
 
 Having conducted my bride to her seat according to 
 custom, I retired to mine, and after service those desir- 
 ous of entering into the holy state of v^edlock were 
 called upon to appear before the pulpit, and there were 
 five or six couples besides ourselves. The marriage 
 ceremony was performed by my father, and we joined 
 right hands according to the form prescribed, made 
 the promises required regarding our mutual duties ; and 
 having received the blessing given with true pastoral 
 and parental feeling, we returned to our seats. An 
 impressive prayer was then offered for our happiness, 
 and whilst the congregation was singing the last Psalm, 
 each went up to his bride and left the church arm in 
 arm, as customary; and we were conveyed again to Mr. 
 Faure's house; where, soon after church, a number of 
 kind relatives and friends followed, to express their best 
 wishes for our future welfare and success. I cannot 
 help thinking that these prayers and wishes influenced 
 our success in future life.* ■ 
 
 It was the custom also in those days to decorate the 
 reception room in which the happy couple were seated 
 to receive the congratulating visitors. We were placed 
 on a sofa, under a large looking-glass decorated with a 
 wreath of myrtle, flowers, ribbons, &c., in the shape of 
 a large heart ; and the floor was strewed with myrtle ,, 
 and other flowers or leaves of gold and silver paper cut 
 into small pieces. 
 
 The kind sister Faure had a sumptuous dinner pre- 
 pared. There were about forty guests, chiefly relatives 
 and friends. One of the large pies agreeably disap- 
 pointed the guests by liberating a number of small live 
 
 * Marriages at present arp solemn izorl on week-da vs.
 
 291 
 
 birds with little red beaks (roodbekjes) that had been 
 confined. An old sportsman had caught them for the 
 occasion, to amuse the party. They of course flew in all 
 directions round the table, and caused great merriment. 
 
 In the evening the young folks enjoyed themselves. 
 A couple of village musicians amused them. In those 
 days it was customary on marriage occasions, and it was 
 thought harmless. Soon after supper, the eldest of the 
 company (our kind-hearted friend, Mr. Bletterman, 
 formerly landdrost) pretended to open a dance, when 
 the bride conducted by him took her leave. The 
 bridegroom soon followed accompanied by several of 
 the married ladies and gentlemen, bidding good night ; — 
 and so we retired. 
 
 Thus ended that day, the most remarkable and im- 
 portant to my future course in life ; in which even now, 
 after nearly fifty-two years (I wrote this on the 8th of 
 April, 1858), I rejoice with thanksgiving to my 
 Heavenly Father for His many and unmerited blessings; 
 and especially for having been spared with my partner 
 to this day. About a week after, we proceeded to town 
 and took our residence with my uncle, Mr. Jacobus de 
 Wit, and stayed there some months before we occupied 
 our own house in Plein-street, which I had purchased ; 
 receiving from him and my good aunt the greatest 
 kindness, — for they were to us as second parents. 
 
 It would require a separate volume to note the 
 various cases decided and disposed of by the court of 
 justice during my employment in their oflice, and would 
 form an interesting collection of causes ceUhres. One, 
 however, of the most remarkable in the days of 
 slavery (and which the emancipation from slavery has 
 
 u 2
 
 292 
 
 prevented from ever happening again) was about the ex- 
 piration of the year 1808. It was that of an insurrection. 
 I will endeavour to give a brief account, taken from the 
 sentence. Such documents contained also, besides the 
 judgment, the species facti of the crimes. 
 
 Some time previous to the month of October, 1808, 
 it so happened that a certain James Hooper, an Irish- 
 man, lived in Cape Town with Louis, slave of a Mrs. 
 Kirsten. Hooper told him "that there were no slaves 
 in his country and that every person was free." And 
 they concerted with another slave, Abraham, a plan to 
 endeavour to make the slaves in this colony also free, 
 and if need be to employ violent means. Louis under- 
 took to speak to such slaves as he knew in the country; 
 and he did so, first to some of a Mr. Louw, in Zwart- 
 land (now Malmesbury), and found them ready to 
 assist. 
 
 Thus prepared, Hooper and Abraham proceeded to 
 Louw's and spent the evening with him. Hooper pre- 
 tending to be a gentleman and Abraham figuring as his 
 servant. 
 
 The plan being communicated to one Michael Kelly, 
 also an Irishman, he agreed to join, and Hooper hired 
 a wagon, pretending it to be for an Englishman to 
 Rietvalley, therefore but one day's journey. 
 
 Louis, under advice of Hooper, provided himself with 
 a blue jacket with red collar and cufis, and two silver 
 epaulets, large and small swords, and ostrich feathers 
 for plumes, and then joined Hooper and Abraham, and : 
 Kelly, and a deserted slave they met on the road, and 
 proceeded to Mr. Louw's place, to incite as many as 
 possible in the interior to insurrection and rebellion ;
 
 293 
 
 and having assembled and armed themselves, to march 
 to Cape Town and take a battery, and demand by 
 letter from the Governor the liberty of the slaves in 
 this colony, to storm the prison and release the prison- 
 ers, and to fight for the liberty of the slaves.' Louis 
 was to be the governor or chief of the blacks, Hooper 
 to have a high situation, and they expected assistance 
 of some people living five months from Cape Town ; 
 but who these were was not ascertained. 
 
 At Louw's, Louis put on two gold epaulets, Hooper a 
 silver one, and having with Kelly armed themselves 
 with swords, their first object was to arrest Louw, but 
 he was not at home. 
 
 Louis was then introduced to Mrs. Louw as a 
 Spanish captain (he had the dark tinge of that nation), 
 and this kind lady gave him' plenty of forage for the 
 horses, a good supper, and permitted all to sleep there, 
 showing them their bed-rooms. Mrs. Louw took supper 
 with them, and several inquiries were made about 
 Louw. 
 
 The next morning they were joined by Louw's slaves 
 (ten in number) and a Hottentot, and proceeded then 
 to the place of a Mr. Basson, and caused horses to be 
 put to his wagon, and bound him. Doors were then 
 forced and guns and powder taken, and they stated that 
 it was the Governor's and Fiscal's orders to take all 
 Christians and slaves to Cape Town. Mrs. Basson 
 fortunately escaped, together with a Miss Smit, through 
 a window, and by letting themselves down by a rope. 
 
 They, now having twelve wagons and four saddle 
 horses, keeping Basson under arrest and having pin- 
 ioned him on the road, went to the place of another Mr.
 
 294 
 
 Louw, seized him, took his money, gun and powder, 
 and armed several of his slaves with swords ; also to one 
 Mr. van der Westhuyzen's, committing the same acts, 
 adding wine and clothing to their robbery, and binding 
 him. And here (under a threat whilst holding the 
 muzzle of a gun to the breast and forcing) even an act 
 of ravishment was committed. 
 
 The number of insurgents had now so increased that 
 they could be formed into two divisions, and Louis took 
 command of one of them, and they proceeded through 
 Koeberg and Tygerberg, Vissershok and Paalen, visit- 
 ing in all thirty-four farms, taking with them, the mas- 
 ters and Christians (whites) bound, and their wagons, 
 horses, arms, ammunition, and slaves : holding out to 
 these that they were to be free, committing several 
 outrages, and directing their course towards Salt River, 
 where some poles for the guidance of travellers were 
 planted. This seemed destined as the place of rendez- 
 vous. 
 
 The slaves (whom they had induced to follow them 
 partly by force and partly by making them believe were 
 then to be free) cried out every where that such was 
 the order of the Governor, the General, and Fiscal. 
 
 From some places they carried the masters bound, from 
 others unbound, in the charge of armed blacks ; at 
 other places they distributed wine among the peo- 
 ple, committmg great excesses, and under the shouts 
 of huzza and firing (in and outside of the houses), they 
 broke windows, chests, and trunks to pieces, entirely 
 plundering the latter, so that several farmers suffered 
 severely ; and the most, one Mr. Christian Storm, of 
 whom not a single slave joined the insurgents, but 
 
 i
 
 295 
 
 concealed themselves in the bushes. He was surprised 
 by these men, aimed, in the middle of the night in his 
 own house, where they broke open all the chests, 
 trunks, and doors of different rooms, and deprived him 
 of nearly everything that came in their way ; and 
 having afterwards bound him, almost naked, as they 
 had taken him out of his bed, they threw him into a 
 wagon ; whilst another party committed violence and 
 plunder at a place in the neighbourhood of a Mr. van 
 der Spuy, taking from him his writing desk and papers. 
 They also seized a Mr. Adriaan Louw, of Drooge 
 Valley, a man upwards of seventy years, on his place, 
 and ill-treated him in the highest degree, laying hold of 
 him by his hair, giving him a blow with the but-end of 
 a musket on his head, and beating him with a sword. 
 
 Some farmers were left behind as prisoners, whilst 
 they proceeded to the place of a Mr. Arend de Waal, 
 at the Paalen, and ill-treated him, taking his gnins, and 
 arresting two other farmers Messrs. Joubert and Late- 
 gaan, then travelling on the road. 
 
 The Governor, Lord Caledon, having received a 
 report of this insurrection on the 27th October, between 
 9 and 10 o'clock in the evening, had detachments of 
 cavalry and infantry immediately despatched. Some of 
 the parties were apprehended at Blueberg and the 
 Paalen, others at Tygerberg. There were confined at Fort 
 de Knokke, one hundred and twenty-six ; at Maastricht 
 at Tygerberg, two hundred ; escaped, five ; total three 
 hundred and thirty-one. Wagons, horses, guns, &c., 
 were immediately returned to the owners, but a great 
 many articles were lost in the confusion. The five pris- 
 oners who had escaped were successively apprehended.
 
 296 
 
 and to the masters were returned two hundred and 
 forty-four slaves, and some of the others, who appeared 
 to have been acting passively ; and only fifty-one were 
 actually brought to trial, after a preliminary examin- 
 ation. 
 
 The prisoners consisted of two Europeans, one 
 Hottentot, and forty-eight slaves. Their sentence was 
 pronounced on the 31st of December, 1808. Sixteen 
 were to be hanged, and the bodies of four of them 
 exposed ; the others to be scourged, and eight of them 
 exposed with ropes round their necks (punishment next 
 to capital), and twenty-one in addition, branded ; besides 
 some who were condemned to the public works for life, 
 twenty-five, fifteen, ten, and five years, — three were 
 returned to their masters to work in irons, and four to 
 witness the execution, and be returned to their masters. 
 
 Ultimately, His Excellency the Governor exercised his 
 power of remitting the punishments, so that nine only 
 were to be executed, the bodies of five exposed, four 
 confined for life, six for fifteen, two for five, and one 
 for three years (after punishment to be returned to their 
 masters), the remainder also after witnessing the punish- 
 ment. The sentences against one of the Europeans 
 and one of the prisoners (Adonis) condemned to capital 
 punishment were suspended, and ultimately that of 
 Kelly was remitted, but he was sent to England to 
 await His Majesty's pleasure, whilst Adonis was banished 
 for life. 
 
 Thus ended this melancholy event, under a kind 
 Providence, without bloodshed before the apprehension 
 of the prisoners ; and fortunately the insurrection ex- 
 tended itself but partially, and was confined to that part 
 
 I
 
 297 
 
 of the colony where the slave population was less dense 
 and not so civilized as in other quarters. 
 
 The sight of so many prisoners, and the proceedings 
 which I read in the office whilst copying some of the 
 examinations and sentences, made a deep impression on 
 my mind, and raised serious thoughts regarding the 
 existence and justice of slavery. For the desire of 
 liberty being the origin of the crimes committed, was 
 (as it struck me) but natural, though at the period of 
 bondage unlawful. The order, peace, and state of 
 society then, however, required severe measures to check 
 further and fatal progress ; so they could not be avoided. 
 
 Proceeding in the office under a cheerful discharge 
 of my duties, and flattering hopes of success, I met in 
 1809, going one morning to the office (then in the 
 castle), a gentleman (Mr. Francis Dash wood) who had 
 been residing at Stellenbosch for his health when I was 
 a lad learning my Latin lessons. He used to visit my 
 father and observed this, and had the kindness to invite 
 me to his house, and took some interest in my 
 progress. He asked me what prospect I had in the 
 service ? I opened to him my views, and he advised 
 me " to continue and endeavour to distinguish myself." 
 
 It so happened that, soon after, Government deter- 
 mined that the Venduemastership should not remain 
 attached to the situation of the secretary of Stellenbosch 
 but be separated, and my old friend, Mr. Wege, resolv- 
 ed to be venduemaster. Apprised of his intention, I 
 communicated my wishes to succeed him, as secretary, 
 to my friend, Mr. Dashwood. He had the kindness to 
 draw up my memorial ; being at that time Receiver- 
 General, he was a man of influence, and by his favourable
 
 298 
 
 representation of my case to the Governor, Lord 
 Caledon, the recommendation of the Colonial Secretary, 
 Mr. Alexander, and the testimonial of my superiors I 
 succeeded in obtaining that situation, and received my 
 appointment, dated 18th December, 1809. This pro- 
 motion was a great step, for, besides being allowed a 
 house and garden, my salary amounted to £75, with 
 fees, and I was the only notary ex ojficio in the district. 
 
 My family had now increased to three children (two 
 daughters and one son). This promotion brought me 
 back to the office where I had commenced my public 
 career in life. The duties were not foreign to me, and 
 the judicial and notarial parts had become familiar. 
 The records were kept plain, and I had many prece- 
 dents, and the forms of accounts were so accurately 
 prescribed, and I had such good clerical assistance, that 
 the office was conducted with ease ; so that during the 
 afternoon, time was left for exercise, and the evenings 
 for study. 
 
 This appointment was particularly gratifying to my 
 beloved parents ; for it brought me with them once 
 more in daily intercourse, and renewed the enjoyment 
 of earlier days ; it contributed much to our mutual 
 happiness, and we felt truly thankful and spent many 
 happy moments in each other s society. 
 
 I had the satisfaction of finding amongst my father's 
 papers after his demise, a letter from Lord Caledon, in 
 his own handwriting, dated 18th January, 1810, in 
 which the following lines are inserted : 
 
 " It has been my study in the selections which I have 
 made for office, that the individual should not only be 
 eligible from his public capacity, but also from his
 
 299 
 
 private worth, and it must be an additional source of 
 pleasure for you to know, that had not your son 
 appeared eligible in each point of view, I should not 
 have selected him for promotion. His own merit 
 brought him to my notice, and my respect for your 
 character confirmed me in the inclination to serve him." 
 
 Before proceeding further, I will retrace some public 
 events between 1806 and 1810, and note them for the 
 information of my readers. 
 
 In March, 1806, 1 witnessed a severe public chastise- 
 ment. Some ill-advised and malicious persons spread 
 false reports respecting the arrival of an enemy's fleet, 
 and one in particular (Cornelis Maas) was even wicked 
 enough to state in General Baird's presence that he 
 himself had not only seen an enemy's fleet, but had 
 spoken to some of their ofiicers in Saldanha Bay, from 
 whence he had come with all possible speed to report 
 the same to His Majesty's Government. It created 
 great alarm ; the garrison was turned out, and placed 
 under marching orders. This, however, appeared to be 
 a false information, and he was publicly flogged at the 
 cart's tail round the town, and banished from the colony. 
 And the General published that such false reports 
 should be punished with death or such other chastise- 
 ment as by a general court-martial should be awarded. 
 
 In the same month a sentry upon duty at the barriers 
 of the lower castle yard was fired at and wounded, and 
 a reward of one thousand rixdollars offered to discover the 
 perpetrator. 
 
 In April, the Governor commenced his arrangements 
 for the government of this Settlement, and the Batavian 
 Court received his thanks for the attention and good will
 
 300 
 
 
 with which they had continued to discharge their im- 
 portant duties, and the new Court was appointed, of 
 which Mr. van Ryneveld was to be the Vice-President 
 and Acting-President, in addition to being His Majesty's 
 Fiscal and Attorney-General; and two members of the 
 old Court were re-appointed, besides four other mem- 
 bers, with the former Attorney-General as their secretary. 
 
 The Chamber for regulating Insolvent Estates was 
 also reformed on a reduced scale ; and Mr. Rhenius, 
 formerly second in command (gezachthebber) nomi- 
 nated as Political Commissioner for Church Affairs, and 
 Mr. G. F. Grand (late extra Councillor of the Board of 
 Policy) as Inspector of Government Woods. 
 
 Hottentots willing to serve His Majesty were to be 1 
 enlisted by the landdrosts. 
 
 The first postal arrangements were directed by Mr. 
 William Caldwell, as Deputy Postmaster. Relays of 
 Hottentots were stationed as runners at the houses of 
 farmers on the route, to convey the mail bags. This was 
 the infant or forerunner of the now so extensive estab- 
 lishment of the Post Office. 
 
 The requisition for wagons, horses, and oxen for the 
 public service was established by law. 
 
 The issue of gunpowder was restricted, and could 
 only be obtained under a certificate of the landdrost of 
 the district, and for protection of cattle against the 
 different tribes of savages. 
 
 A sale of imported negro slaves was authorized by 
 Government the same year ; this, I believe, was the last 
 of that inhuman traffic. 
 
 In January, 1807, Sir David Baird delivered over 
 the Government to Lieutenant-Gcneral Grey, the ap-
 
 301 
 
 pointed Lieutenant-Governor and Commander of the 
 Forces ; and on the 24th he left in the transport Paragon. 
 Addresses were presented to His Excellency, one by the 
 British merchants and another by the principal inhab- 
 itants. 
 
 In the first-mentioned, Sir David was highly compli- 
 mented for the order and discipline maintained in the 
 army; and with regard to the civil government it stated : 
 " And from the wisdom, justice, and moderation of 
 your civil government, you have the singular satis- 
 faction of a conqueror leaving the conquered beloved 
 and regretted by them." 
 
 In the second, from the Court of Justice, Burgher 
 Senate, and other public boards, civil and ecclesi- 
 astical, deep regret at the departure and thanks for 
 paternal protection are expressed, and it further m.entions : 
 " By your wise and well-directed measures for our 
 internal government, together with the unparalleled 
 discipline of the troops under Your Excellency's com- 
 mand, our rights have been guarded, and the whole 
 colony enjoys at this moment a state of tranquillity and 
 plenty seldom or ever realised. Though we have not 
 a moment's doubt of the fatherly care of His Majesty to 
 liave appointed a successor every way qualified to fill 
 the important situation of the Governor of the Cape of 
 Good Hope, still, however, we cannot help expressing 
 our sincere sorrow at the loss of Your Excellency ; and 
 we beg leave to assure Your Excellency that our grati- 
 tude for the blessings the colony has experienced under 
 Your Excellency's Government will never be obliterated 
 from our memory. Accept then, worthy sir, of our 
 most heartfelt acknowledgments; and may the Almighty
 
 302 
 
 Giver of all Good grant Your Excellency every happi- 
 ness and prosperity that life affords ; in which we may 
 assure Your Excellency we are joined by every well- 
 thinking inhabitant of the colony/' 
 
 Thus I saw this Commander of the Forces and 
 British Governor of our colony depart, under a salute 
 from the Imhoff battery of seventeen guns. A multitude 
 of spectators attended and our best wishes followed him. 
 
 On the last day of the month the instructions for 
 vaccine inoculation were published, and the medical 
 practitioners referred to a committee of a president, two 
 members, and a secretary, previously appointed. 
 
 In April the first supreme medical committee of three 
 physicians were appointed, and their instructions pub- 
 lished. 
 
 About that time some malicious person had put a 
 shot into the gun on the castle ramparts — usually fired 
 as the morning and evening gun. Considerable 
 damage was done to one of the houses in town, and 
 lives were risked. A reward was offered to detect the 
 perpetrator. 
 
 In May, 1 807, His Excellency the Earl of Caledon 
 was proclaimed Governor ; and Andrew Barnard, 
 Esq. (husband to the well-known and hospitable Lady 
 Ann Barnard), Secretary and Registrar of the Records ' 
 in this Settlement ; a Court of Appeal in Civil Cases and 
 Vice-Admiralty Court were also appointed. In June 
 the small-pox made its appearance ; the powder maga- 
 zine was broken into ; and policemen were employed 
 to convey mails to the interior. 
 
 In November the first tenders were invited for de- 
 livery of forage for the Colony, instead of the usual 
 
 lal ) 
 
 I
 
 303 
 
 assessment of the farmers. This was to them a great 
 rehef. 
 
 To encourage the production of wool, the Agricul- 
 tural Commission offered for sale a great number of 
 bastard Spanish rams at Groenekloof. They had sent 
 to two field-cornets in Roggeveld also one hundred and 
 forty rams. Some farmers, however, objected, stating 
 that the Cape sheep were preferred by the butchers ; 
 these, however, denied giving that preference. 
 
 At that time twenty-six Government places were 
 offered for lease at Groenekloof. 
 
 In 1808 the boundaries of Tulbagh district were fixed. 
 
 The first and only wagon-load of wool in that year, 
 belonging to Mr. Hillegert Muller, of Swellendam, 
 arrived in town, and realized rds. 670. How great has 
 been the progress in the production of that article since ! 
 A Court of Appeal in Criminal Cases was established. 
 Rds. 150,000 issued from the Treasury to the Lombard 
 Bank, to be advanced in small sums and at short periods 
 for the convenience of trading and other parties desirous 
 of keeping up credit. This is the first establishment of 
 discount. 
 
 In March, 1809, Mr. W. S. van Ryneveld was 
 appointed President of the Court of Justice, in the room 
 of Mr. 0. G. de Wet, and Mr. J. A. Truter, H. M. 
 Fiscal. 
 
 In April the Cape district was established under a 
 landdrost and heemraden, and their instructions pub- 
 lished. Mr. T. Tom was the first landdrost. I note 
 this, because as civil commissioner of that division for 
 nearly twenty-four years, I still feel a deep interest in 
 its prosperity and welfare.
 
 304 
 
 In June a free pardon was offered to all deserted 
 slaves on returning to their masters' service. 
 
 The Governor, Lord Caledon, found it necessary for 
 the benefit of the colony at large, that not only the 
 individuals of the Hottentot nation, in the same manner 
 as the other inhabitants, should be subject to proper 
 regularity in regard to their places of abode and occu- 
 pations, but also that they should find encouragement 
 for preferring to enter the service of the inhabitants to 
 leading an indolent life (by which they were rendered 
 useless both for themselves and the community at large), 
 and established the system of written contracts by the 
 parties before a fiscal, landdrost, or field-cornet, and 
 other salutary rules, as appears in a proclamation of 
 November, 1809. 
 
 Having noted these public proceedings, which might 
 have been extended to a length far beyond the plan of 
 my memoir, I will now I'esume my personal career. 
 
 On the 1st of January, 1810, I was gazetted as 
 Secretary of Stellenbosch, and continued in that oflSce 
 until the 17th March, 1813, when I was appointed as 
 Deputy Fiscal in Cape Town (that is, assistant to the 
 Attorney-General of the Colony), and took my oath of 
 ofl&ce on the 25th following. The desire to rise in the 
 service and promote the education of my children (then 
 five in number), induced me to accept the proposal 
 made through the then landdrost, Mr. W. S. van 
 Andrenga. The salary of my predecessor was men- 
 tioned as being £375, exclusive of fees, so that in that 
 point I also expected to gain an advantage. I left the 
 dear village, not without much feeling of regret, as being 
 again separated from my beloved parents and a large
 
 305 
 
 circle of kind friends, aniong whom my brother-in-law, 
 Mr. T. C. Faure and his lady, my old secretary, Mr. 
 Wege, Mr. and Mrs. Bletterman, and several others, had 
 become dear to me. 
 
 Soon the quiet scenes of the village changed with the 
 turbulency of town, for my occupations were of a less 
 pacific nature. Daily was I obliged to hear and dispose 
 of the complaints of higher and lower classes, or bring 
 them into a course of judicial investigation and decision. 
 I had to regulate the police department (of which the 
 fiscal, Mr. Daniel Denyssen, was the chief), to represent 
 the public prosecutor in preliminary examinations 
 before commissioners of the court, and conduct the 
 trials of inferior and police cases, and several other 
 duties connected with that laborious office ; so that I 
 was never certain of my time, day or night. 
 
 I was rather disappointed, after accepting the office, 
 to learn that £150 of the salary above mentioned had 
 been a personal gratuity to my predecessor, so that my 
 salary reverted to £225. In a pecuniary point of view, 
 therefore, I considered myself not to have advanced ; 
 and, with the expenses of town and no allowance for 
 house-rent, to have made rather a retrograde move. I 
 was consequently induced to represent my case, but no 
 redress was obtained before 1817, when my salary was 
 increased ; and, from a Government letter of the 5th 
 May to His Majesty's Fiscal, it appeared that His 
 Excellency the Governor had received the sanction of His 
 Majesty's Government in England to an increase of my 
 salary (in consideration of useful and meritorious ser- 
 vices), to an amount of Rds. 4,500, so long as I should 
 fill the situation of Deputy Fiscal ; and upon my
 
 306 
 
 vacating the office should revert to its former standard 
 of Rds. 3,000, and my increase was to commence from 
 the 1st of July, 1806. 
 
 This was not only satisfactory to my feelings, but 
 with tlie cares of my growing family a great relief; and 
 I need hardly add that it prompted to further exertion 
 in the service. 
 
 The occupations of that office were such that for 
 about seven years I did not leave Cape Town, except 
 under most urgent circumstances. I also performed 
 extra duties, namely, as Secretary of a Commission of 
 Inquiry into the conduct of a minister of Swellendam, 
 charged by the Landdrost with misconduct in his public 
 and private proceedings. Of this committee the late 
 Sir John Truter was chairman, and the senior minister of 
 the Dutch Reformed Church and political commissioner 
 in church matters were the members ; and it was while 
 acting in that capacity, under the immediate eye and 
 observation of Sir John, that I first attracted his atten- 
 tion, and that the foundation was laid of a future 
 intimacy, which lasted until his demise. In another 
 part of my memoir I may perhaps be induced to give 
 a sketch of that amiable gentleman and able function- 
 ary. The result of the inquiry was a suspension of 
 the minister for six months. 
 
 In February, 1818, I was specially charged by 
 Government with the management of all matters of 
 police, the superintendence of the inferior officers and 
 servants employed in the Fiscal's department, the care 
 and proper treatment of prisoners, and the investigation 
 and settlement of all petty disputes. The duties belong- 
 ing to the Prosecutor's department (such as examining
 
 307 
 
 witnesses, conducting' trials before coliimissioners) Were 
 allotted to an advocate. 
 
 Another important extra appointment was of the 
 16th June, 1819, by Government letter, stating that 
 as the Governor was desirous, in order to the framing 
 of a reg-ular compendium of colonial law^, that the local 
 laws and institutions of this Government should be 
 brought out of that dift\ised state wherein they were 
 into one regular whole containing all the local ordi- 
 nances in force, — I was requested to undertake with 
 Mr. D. F. Berrange, the Secretary of the Court of 
 Justice and a Doctor at Law, under the guidance of the 
 Chief Justice, Sir John A. Truter, the forming of a 
 general placaat, to contain, under distinct heads, all the 
 proclamations, ordinances, resolutions, and other pro- 
 visions which had been enacted and issued by the 
 successive Governments of this Colony, since its first 
 establishment to the present day, — so far as they were 
 still observed, and considered to have the force of law,. 
 
 My friend Berrange and myself, being well occupied 
 during office hours, found it most convenient to meet 
 in the evening at his house, where, as a useful reference^ 
 we framed and extended an alphabetical register of all 
 the colonial laws, in ten volumes, still extant. The 
 more important object, however, in contemplation, was a 
 minute of such parts of the Roman and other laws as 
 were adopted in the colony ; and this was to be more 
 exclusively the task of my brother commissioner, Ber- 
 range, he being a regularly educated lawyer. But whilst 
 matters were thus progressing, the report of a change 
 in the administration of justice and the establishment 
 of an English Supreme Court reached us ; and, undev 
 
 X 2
 
 308 
 
 the expectation that different laws and regulations would 
 be introduced, and my increasing duties as a permanent 
 sitting commissioner, the work was checked and 
 dropped, — when both Sir John and Mr. Berrange 
 retired from office. 
 
 This, however, gave me great insight into the colonial 
 laws, and opportunity to get more and more acquainted 
 with Sir John, under whose guidance I since attempted 
 to translate Van der Linden's Criminal Code. This work 
 was in the Government press when an edition arrived 
 of a translation of the whole of that author's works by 
 Mr. Henry, so that mine was not necessary. 
 
 On different occasions I was also surrogated as a 
 member of the Court of Justice whilst Deputy Fiscal, 
 until the 21st February, 1823, when I was honoured 
 with the appointment of member of the Court of Jus- 
 tice, then the Supreme Court of the Colony. 
 
 On that occasion I received a letter from Sir John, 
 stating that he was much pleased that I should succeed 
 the judge, Mr. Matthiessen (this gentleman had served 
 the Colony fifty years), and as the course appeared to him 
 to be opened by Providence, he recommended me to 
 keep it constantly in view, and to remember that I should 
 have to account for this my stewardship ; and by using 
 the talents intrusted to me, to attain the object of my 
 call; and directing it with modesty and Christian con- 
 fidence, I could hope to experience in this my new 
 situation happy feelings ; and, in order to keep this 
 account as clear as human frailty and insufficiency 
 would allow, to examine it every night when going to 
 rest. He further recommended me to increase my 
 knowledge, and to be attentive to everything tending to
 
 309 
 
 extend my experience ; but chiefly to strive that each 
 of my fellow-citizens should be satisfied that my con- 
 duct was based on the great precept of our Saviour, 
 " Whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do 
 ye even so to them." 
 
 This kind and friendly letter, and other hints expres- 
 sive of his feelings and sentiments, left on my mind a 
 deep impression of the high responsibility attached to 
 the situation of a judge. When I accepted it my health 
 had been suffering under intense application to the 
 various duties in the Fiscal's department ; and as those 
 of Commissioner of the Court were alternately taken, I 
 soon found relief by the intermediate days of rest ; and 
 this, with the exercise I had whilst going on circuit in 
 the same year, restored my health. 
 
 I had previously the offer of joining the Court by 
 Lord Charles Somerset, but declined on motives of con- 
 science, and the importance and responsibility attached 
 to a judgeship. Also that of becoming the Seques- 
 trator of the Colony ; and another by the Colonial 
 Secretary, Colonel Bird, to be Landdrost of Swellendam ; 
 but I preferred the situation I held, not being involved 
 in pecuniary responsibilities. 
 
 It was my good fortune to have in 1823, as a brother 
 judge on circuit, Petrus Johannes Truter, Esq. (son of 
 Mr. Truter, with whom I had travelled in 1801), and in 
 1825, Johannes Christoffel Fleck, Esq., who served 
 with me for several years as clerk in the Court's office. 
 
 The details of these circuits and cases tried, would 
 alone make nearly a small volume. Suffice it to say 
 that in 1823 we found the country in Albany, which had 
 been taken and occuj^ied by the settlers, uneasy and
 
 310 
 
 unsettled. And some of the cases brought before us 
 were conducted with great warmth — I may add, preju- _ 
 dice — against the court, as if acting under superior ^i 
 influence. However, as some of our new colonists had 
 been disappointed in their expectations entertained on i 
 leaving home, and had great difficulties to struggle with, 
 this was to us no matter of surprise, and my colleague, 
 with me, resolved patiently but firmly to pursue our 
 course of duty, irrespective of consequences. j| 
 
 In May, 1826, the Lieutenant-Governor Sir Richard 
 Bourke, in council, considered that from the population 
 in Cape Town and vicinity it was found necessary to 
 establish an executive police therein, and that it was 
 expedient, in order to give effect to that establishment, 
 and for the SDeedier administration of justice, that a 
 magistrate should be in daily attendance to take cogni- 
 zance of all such matters, and dispose according to law 
 of all such persons as should be brought before him by 
 the police ; and that one of the members of the Court 
 of Justice should be appointed a permanent sitting 
 Commissioner, retaining his seat in court, and His 
 Honour was pleased to give me that appointment with 
 a salary of £500 per annum. And the matters sub- 
 jected to my jurisdiction were: "All misdemeanors 
 which are not subject to a more severe punishment than 
 correction in the public prison, temporary imprison- 
 ment, fines and confiscations in those cases relative to 
 the public revenue and police, all complaints of masters 
 of ships against their seamen, of tradesmen and others 
 against their apprentices, of masters against their ser- 
 vants, whether freemen or slaves, and vice versa ; and 
 further, all complaints of parents against their children,
 
 311 
 
 and in general all complaints lodged with the magis- 
 trate, not capable of amicable arrangement between 
 the parties, and in which the public interest required 
 that the party complained of should receive a correc- 
 tion proportionate to the misdemeanor." 
 
 Sentences exceeding a fine of £5 or one month's 
 imprisonment were appealable. 
 
 The sessions were daily (Sundays excepted) from ten 
 to four o'clock. Persons charged were, after due pre- 
 liminary investigation, either to be committed for trial, 
 discharged on bail, or otherwise disposed of. All 
 prisoners were to be brought before the Commissioner 
 within twenty-four hours, and the duties of a justice 
 of the peace were also to be performed. 
 
 And thus daily occupied, I continued as permanent 
 sitting Commissioner until January, 1828. 
 
 Meanwhile I learned that by a despatch fi'om tlie 
 Secretary of State, marked separate, dated in June, 1 827, 
 I had been appointed Judge of Police and Commis- 
 sioner of the Court of Request. In the latter, my 
 colleague was to be the Master of the Supreme Court. 
 
 By His Majesty's Charter of Justice, 24th August, 
 1827, and a proclamation of the Lieutenant-Governor, 
 10th December following, it appeared that the Supreme 
 Court of this Colony should be opened on the 1st of 
 January, 1828, and that the other Courts of Justice 
 would be abolished; and on the 5th of January, 1828, I 
 was appointed Judge of Police in Cape Town and Cape 
 district, for continuing the powers heretotbre conniiitted 
 to the permanent sitting Commissioner in Cape Town, 
 and for extending the jurisdiction to Cape district (then 
 ''ontainiuii; the present Wynberg, Simons Town,
 
 312 
 
 Malmesbury, and Piketberg districts), and for continuing 
 a Matrimonial Court therein, and to hold all inquests, 
 together with the Superintendent of Police or his 
 Deputy, in the same manner and form as the inquests 
 were heretofore held before the members of the Court 
 of Justice. 
 
 Previous to that appointment, I had received on the 
 1st December, 1827, commissions as Justice of the 
 Peace for Cape Town and the district thereof, and 
 Cape District ; and on the 31st of the same month these 
 commissions were further confirmed by a Government 
 letter, under the great seal of the colony, to have taken 
 effect from 1st January, 1828, 
 
 It not having been deemed expedient to establish a 
 Court of Request, but to concentrate the duties of such 
 court into those of a magistracy, I received on the 1st 
 March, 1828, the appointment of Judge of Police and 
 Resident Magistrate for Cape Town and district thereof, 
 and Cape district, including the districts above men- 
 tioned, without further increase of salary, so that the 
 duties of the Court of Landdrost and Heemraden and 
 their Commissions, then abolished, were to be performed 
 by me, and for some time I have been obliged to hold 
 monthly courts as magistrate at Simon's Town. 
 
 Under a new system of administration of justice I 
 found it not a very easy task to perform all the 
 magisterial duties, especially of the distant magistracies 
 above alluded to. 
 
 However, the confidence placed in me by the Lieut. - 
 Governor (there was a doubt whether the whole could 
 be performed by one person), the handsome salary of '■j 
 £800 attached to the situation, and the marked distinc
 
 313 
 
 tion I enjoyed, induced 'me to exert myself to the 
 utmost, and, thanks to Providence, I was spared and 
 supported to fulfil my task, until I obtained the situation 
 of Civil Commissioner, The magistracy over these 
 different districts continued for nearly ten years, when 
 distinct magistrates wei-e appointed. Meanwhile, under 
 a commission dated 6th September, 1832, Sir Lowry 
 Cole appointed me also Commissioner of the Court of 
 Request for Slaves, under an order of His Majesty the 
 King in Council of 2nd November, 1831, to improve 
 the condition of slaves also in this colony. 
 
 As the appointments above mentioned closed my 
 services under the former administration of justice, I 
 will finish this section, to commence the next with my 
 further proceedings under the new Charter of Justice,
 
 314 
 
 SECTION XII. 
 
 I continued as judge of police and resident magis- 
 trate, undisturbed until 1 6tli May, 1 834, when under the 
 administration of tlie Governor, Sir Benjamin D'Urban, 
 I WHS informed that, according to instructions received 
 from His Majesty's Government conveyed in a despatch 
 dated 31st December, 1833, the following arrangement 
 was to take effect in the Cape district from the 1st of 
 July, 1834. 
 
 The duties of the offices of civil commissioner and 
 resident magistrate of the district were to be united, 
 and invested in me, and the salary reduced to £500, 
 with house-rent and travelling expenses. Fees to be 
 carried to public account ; and the duties of judge of 
 police were separated from those of magistrate and 
 added to the superintendent of police. 
 
 I thus became the chief civil officer in the Cape 
 division, and as such collector of taxes, land-rent, 
 fees and other public branches of revenue, inspector 
 of lands and woods ; I had to provide for public trans- 
 port such as for circuit judges and other public officers; 
 and superintendent of roads, public accountant of 
 revenue and expenditure, contractor on behalf of 
 Government, for tolls, mails, supplies for gaols and 
 police establishments ; I had to frame annually statis- 
 tical returns, expedite commandos if required, - such 
 as was the case in 184G and 1852. In fact, to be all 
 that Government thought necessary and could reason- 
 ably expect from an officer in charge of a division 
 attached to the Capital, extending about one hundred 
 and ninety miles in length, and divided into twenty-four
 
 315 
 
 wards or field-coriietcies. 1 had to make an annual 
 circuit for collecting' taxes and to obtain a general 
 knowledge and information of the people, their proceed- 
 ings, and other duties which could not be performed in 
 office (and the revenue was in arrear some thousands of 
 pounds), and upwards of one hundred and forty memo- 
 rials for land had to be reported upon after local inspec- 
 tion, which in some distances extended to the very 
 boundaries of my division. And with such duties added 
 to those of this very extensive magistracy, the salary 
 was reduced from £800 to £500, which I had in 1826 
 as permanent sitting commissioner exercising only a 
 criminal jurisdiction, as described in the preceding 
 section. Instead, therefore, of promotion I retrograded 
 materially in position as a public servant ; but this did 
 not dishearten me. 
 
 When the kind Sir Benjamin D' Urban communicated 
 this alteration to me, he did so most feelingly, and 
 offered a retirement at a pension, which then would 
 have amounted to about £460, or to take the appoint- 
 ment ; but at that time of life and having thus far been 
 occupied only in the Service, to which I had sacrificed 
 every other pursuit, I preferred continuing, in hopes 
 that a representation of my case would induce or enable 
 my superiors at home to reconsider and decide upon it, 
 according to its peculiar merits. And though after- 
 wards the house-rent was allowed at £100 per annum, 
 yet the reduction bore upon me so severely that even 
 at the present moment I feel the effects of it. 
 
 With the salary of £800 I had undertaken the pro- 
 fessional education of two sons, which I could not
 
 316 
 
 withdraw without ruining their prospects, and I was led 
 to incur other expenses, which, in expectation of 
 such a measure, might have been avoided. And as 
 father of a numerous family of children, requiring to be 
 maintained and educated according to my station in 
 life, I felt much disappointed ; for Sir Richard Bourke, 
 when fixing the salary at £800, considered it as secure 
 as any of the judges appointed from home. In fact, a 
 reference to my memorials and the despatches to the 
 Secretary of State will sufficiently detail the effects it 
 produced. 
 
 I was induced faintly to hope, from the answers 
 received, that the moment the finances of the Colony 
 were considered to be extricated from the difficulty 
 which gave rise to the reduction, my case would meet 
 with favourable consideration. 
 
 In a letter from the Colonial Office of 6th April, 
 1835, it was stated that the Earl of Aberdeen had 
 perused my representation with the greatest attention, 
 and must admit most fully that the arrangements 
 (alluding to the reduction) had pressed severely upon me ', 
 yet as the necessity which led His Majesty's Government 
 to curtail as much as possible the expense of the civil 
 establishment in this Colony still existed, His Lordship 
 apprehended that he could not, without injustice to many 
 other meritorious public servants, entertain my claims, or 
 hold out any hope of an increase to my salary, until the 
 state of the colonial finances should be such as to 
 enable him to mark the disposition of Government to 
 aj^ord reliej in every case in which hardshjip may be 
 shown to have been infiictid on individuals.
 
 317 
 
 This was ill reply to a despatch of Sir Benjamin 
 D'Urban, of 16th September, 1834, in which His Excel- 
 lency stated : 
 
 " I earnestly beg your favourable attention to the 
 enclosed statement of Mr. Borcherds, civil commis- 
 sioner and resident magistrate of the Cape district, 
 because his long and past services, his value as a com- 
 missioner, judge, and magistrate, which it is impossible 
 to overrate, and the great addition recently made to his 
 labours and responsibihty, while his emoluments have 
 been suddenly and greatly reduced by the arrangement 
 of the dispatch of December last, all constitute such 
 powerful claims in his behalf, that it becomes an act of 
 indispensable justice on my part to solicit your notice 
 to the great loss which he sustained by a diminution of 
 three eighths of his income at, as it were, a moment's 
 warning. 
 
 " Aware as I am of the financial difficulties of the 
 present period, yet I cannot do otherwise than bring 
 this particularly strong case before you." 
 
 Feeling my difficulties increasing, I presented a second 
 memorial; and in adespatchof 21st November, 1836, in 
 reply, the Secretary of State stated : 
 
 " / have not perused Mr. Borcherds memorial 
 without being deeply impressed with the hardship of his 
 case, and entertain the strongest wish to afford him relief. 
 I regret that I can only repeat the answer which I have 
 been compelled to return to similar applications from 
 you in favour of other public officers, namely, that it is 
 impossible to consider any case of this kind as raising 
 an isolated question to be decided separately upon its 
 own merits, but that they must all be determined upon
 
 318 
 
 feome general principle, in the adoption of which His 
 Majesty's Government will be able to calculate on having 
 at their disposal sufficient resources to obviate the 
 danger of a new retraction." 
 
 This was in reply to a despatch of Sir Benjamin 
 D'Urban of July, 1836, in which, with reference to his 
 former despatch and my representation as having been 
 one of the greatest sufferers by the arrangement regard- 
 ing the reduction of salaries, he states : 
 
 " And now I cannot in justice to this gentleman, who 
 is at once one of the oldest and most valuable of the 
 public servants of the Colonial Government, decline to 
 forward this his renewed memorial; 
 
 " All the statements of it are correct, and it is unne- 
 cessary to say that a sudden and unexpected loss of 
 nearly one half or three eighths of his salary has pressed 
 hard upon him ; n\ truth, it has deeply distressed him^ 
 and if some relief be not alforded, it must end in his 
 comparative ruin at an advanced period of life, and 
 with his large family, when his long and laborious 
 services would rather have called — if any change had 
 been made — for an increase than a diminution of his 
 emoluments. 
 
 " It is impossible for me to speak too highly of Mr. 
 Borcherds' ability, zeal, and efficiency in the extensive 
 and arduous duties which he has to perform, and I 
 earnestly recommend him to your Lordship's favourable 
 recommendation." 
 
 In 1838, when my pecuniary cares were increasing 
 and also my duties, I agam memorialised ; and Sir Ben- 
 jamin D' Li ban, in forwarding it to the Secretary of 
 State, earnestly recommendec it again to favourable 
 
 I 
 
 I
 
 31D 
 
 consideration. And, refernno- to his former despatclies 
 of 1834 and 1836, Ilis Excellency stated : 
 
 " I have so fully expressed my opinion at once of Mr. 
 Borcherds" merits and of the extreme hardship of his 
 case, that repeating that opinion now, I have only to 
 add to it that the unexpected and sudden reduction of 
 three eighths of his official income has in no respect 
 diminished his zeal and able exertions in the public 
 service, which have continued unabated and indefatigable. 
 The arguments in his present memorial are, I con- 
 ceive, strong and unanswerable." And he drew attention 
 to the revenue of the district under my administration 
 having increased £7,342, and also, upon that groundj 
 recommended the restoring of my salary to its former 
 amount, and again urged earnestly the justice of my 
 prayer. 
 
 But a despatch was received in reply from the Secre^ 
 tary of State (Lord Glenelg) statnig, that having 
 repeatedly expressed his inability to hold out any ex- 
 pectation of an early fulfilment of my wishes, he was 
 now, however reluctantly, compelled to observe that the 
 state of the financial affairs and prospects of the Colony 
 placed it wholly out of his power to return a more 
 favourable answer to my renewed application. 
 
 This blasted my hopes. I saw that the authorities at 
 home, though feeling inclined, could not consistently 
 (with the represented state of the finances of the Colony 
 and the claims of other meritorious servants) entertain 
 my case as an isolated one ; notwithstanding the Gover- 
 nor of the Colony recommended favourable consideration 
 in the strongest terms, knowing how the measure
 
 320 
 
 pressed upon me, under great increase of duties and 
 responsibility. The position of myself and family 
 became painful, for under the rules of service any act of 
 insolvency might have deprived me of my situation. 
 Fortunately, several kind friends supported me w^ith their 
 assistance ; and by strict economy and denial of many 
 comforts and necessaries belonging to my station, and 
 by leading a retired life, 1 gradually but slov^^ly re- 
 covered myself. 
 
 My only hope was now promotion, and I sought 
 redress by applying in a memorial to the Secretary of 
 State, Lord Stanley. The Governor, Sir George Napier, 
 forwarded it with his favourable opinion of my services, 
 and I received an answer that it had pleased His Lord- 
 ship to note my application. 
 
 Finding in 1844 that this also was of no avail, I 
 applied that only the half, namely £100, should be 
 restored of the £200, which I had lost in 1834, and 
 Sir George had the kindness to state, that although he 
 felt considerable delicacy in pressing upon the Secretary 
 of State the favourable consideration of my claim, — 
 especially as in some other instances he had declined 
 to recommend applications from officers who suffered 
 under the reduction of 1834, unless it were made a 
 general measure — but that the length of my services and 
 merits as a public servant seemed to him sufficient 
 grounds for making an exception in my favour; request- 
 ing His Lordship to give the subject his most favourable 
 consideration, and grant me during the period I retained 
 my present office £100 per annum of increase to my 
 salary. 
 
 I
 
 321 
 
 Sir George's successor, Sir Peregrine Maitland, how- 
 ever, was requested to give further explanations and 
 fuller report, and there the matter ended. 
 
 I made other attempts by verbal communications to 
 the local authorities, but was told that the answers 
 received by other high officials in similar applications 
 left little or no hope of success. 
 
 Meanwhile, I saw the finances of the (yoiony consi- 
 derably improved, and extricated out of their former 
 difficulties, — expenses incurred of a nature different 
 from the estimates prior to the reduction, — new appoint- 
 ments created, and the obstacle to which the Secretary 
 of State alluded gradually removed, — and my hopes 
 revived ; but my case was not noticed and was left unde- 
 cided, and I remained on the same salary received in 
 1826, and under considerable^ increase of duties and 
 responsibility as before stated, and without additional 
 emolument. 
 
 In fact, my account with Government since 1834, 
 stood thus : 
 
 {a) By the reduction / lost and Government gained 
 £200 per annum, — -thus, exclusive of interest, 
 in 20 years, £4,000. 
 {b) By accepting office, I saved Government £200 
 per annum since 1828, being the amount of 
 pension which I could have drawn as a retired 
 member of the Court of Justice, and thus in 
 twenty-six years the amount of £5,200. 
 (c) £462 per annum since 1834, being a pension 
 offered, when I was about to be appointed civil 
 commissioner, and thus a gain in twenty years 
 (I calculated this n 1854) of about £9,000.
 
 322 
 
 (J) Full £1,200 by continuing in the service beyond 
 the superannuation (sixty-fifth year of age) as 
 fixed by the regulations on superannuated 
 allowance for civil servants. I was then sixty- 
 seven when thus calculating. 
 Thus the Treasury gained considerably by my con- 
 tinued services whilst as an individual my loss was great. 
 The results and effects were to me : 
 
 {a) No progress or advance, either in salary or pro- 
 motion, since 1834. 
 (h) No provision for widow or family in case of death. 
 
 (c) Constant pecuniary care since 1834, in addition 
 
 to the numerous and responsible public duties, 
 — a matter which I did not conceal from my 
 superiors, as appears by Sir Benjamin 
 D'Urban's and Sir George Napier's despatches. 
 
 (d) Dependence on assistance which the retention of 
 
 my former salary would have spared to my 
 feelings ; for to secure my independence as 
 sole judge in a court in jurisdiction next to 
 the supreme court of the Colony, the salary 
 was originally fixed at £800. 
 Lastly, I applied to His Honour the Lieutenant-Gov- 
 ernor, C. H. Darling, Esq., in 1852, to know what my 
 pension would be in January, 1 853, after a service of 
 fifty-one years and two months. His Honour referred 
 the question to the Honourable the Auditor-General, 
 who calculated that it would amount to £456 per annum ; 
 — considering, however, after fifty years' service, since 
 1806, I would be entitled to full pension, His Honour 
 communicated the matter at my request to the Secretary 
 of State, when a reference was made to the Lords of the
 
 323 
 
 Treasury, who, however, found a difficulty in fixing the 
 amount before the period had actually expired. Thus 
 stood my case on the 31st March, 1854. 
 
 I omitted that an allowance of £27 annually for 
 keeping a horse for public service was granted in 1834, 
 but also withdrawn in 1848. 
 
 In making this statement, however, I cannot help 
 expressing a feeling of gratitude to that benevolent 
 Power who only knew the extent of my painful position, 
 and who mercifully spared and preserved me in health 
 of mind and body, to perform to the best of my ability 
 my duty to society and family, — to the Government for 
 constant employment, — and to my fellow-colonists for 
 their indulgence and consideration during the long 
 period of my service. 
 
 The recapitulation of these matters has been unavoid- 
 able, because it shows how justly Parliament (being 
 acquainted with these facts) granted me a gratuity in 
 compensation (partly) of my loss, and for services per- 
 formed ; and because it stands so closely connected with 
 the sequel of my biography, and with the happy relief 
 so generously introduced by our present Governor Sir 
 George Grey. I will not conceal it, for it saved me 
 from ruin. 
 
 When I have gone through the further details of my 
 proceedings and public life, I hope to have an oppor- 
 tunity of expressing myself more fully as to my feelings 
 on that subject. Could I be otherwise than highly 
 sensible of the relief? 
 
 But let me defer this for the present and proceed to 
 commence the next section of my memoirs. 
 
 Y 2
 
 324 
 
 SECTION XUI. 
 
 In April, 1854, I represented my case again by 
 memorial to the Lieutenant-Governor, Mr. C. Darling, 
 applying for consideration in consequence of my long 
 services, the pecuniary losses caused by the reduction 
 of my salary, and other disappointments experienced by 
 me. This was forwarded to the Right Honourable the 
 Secretary of State in June following, with this remark : 
 
 " I believe that the details of Mr. Borcherds' state- 
 ment will be found to be fully supported by the docu- 
 ments which accompanied it. The opinion expressed 
 by former Governors of the Colony of high reputation 
 will no doubt sufficiently recommend it to your Grace's 
 attention ; but I should be wanting in justice to the 
 services of a most respectable, faithful, and zealous 
 servant of the Crown, — who has carried on his duties 
 under my immediate observation and direction during 
 the last two years, and who cheerfully undertook at my 
 request the uncompensated but important office of 
 chairman of the Central Road Board at a moment when 
 much difficulty was felt in adequately filling that office, 
 if I did not add my own testimony, however valueless 
 in comparison with that which Mr. Borcherds has 
 adduced from other sources, of the conscientiousness 
 and efficiency with which he discharges all his duties, 
 and of the respect and esteem entertained for him by 
 the inhabitants of the Colony at large." 
 
 And an answer was received as communicated to me by a 
 Government letter of the 24th October, 1854, stating : 
 
 " That if it was my object, as it would seem, to obtain 
 compensation for those losses and disappointments, my 

 
 325 
 
 proper course would be to bring my case under the 
 consideration of the Colonial Parliament." 
 
 Meanwhile, my case had attracted the notice of 
 Parliament, for on the 19th September, 1854, Mr. John 
 Fairbairn proposed in the House of Assembly, to move 
 without notice, seconded by Mr. Hercules Crosse 
 Jarvis : 
 
 " That in the opinion of this House, the salary of 
 £500 per annum with £100 allowance for house-rent, 
 drawn by P. B. Borcherds, Esq., formerly member of 
 the court of justice, and for many years past civil 
 commissioner and magistrate of the Cape Division, is 
 not equal to the reasonable claims of that valuable 
 public servant, and that His Honour the Lieutenant- 
 Governor's attention be requested to this case, in con- 
 sideration of the long-continued, faithful, and meritorious 
 services of this officer." 
 
 Mr. Speaker (C. J. Brand) put to the House 
 whether this motion should be entertained without notice. 
 
 House assented. 
 
 Question put, and passed. 
 
 Mr. Fairbairn moved, seconded by Doctor Aber- 
 crombie : " That this resolution be conveyed to His 
 Honour the Lieutenant-Governor by respectful address." 
 
 Question put and passed. 
 
 And this resolution was consequently conveyed to 
 His Honour the Lieutenant-Governor by respectful 
 address. 
 
 His Honour returned a message, stating : " That he 
 will have much pleasure in communicating to Her 
 Majesty's Government the resolution of the Honourable 
 the House upon the subject of the long and faithful
 
 326 
 
 services rendered to the British Crown by Mr. P. B. 
 Borcherds, the civil commissioner of the Cape Division, 
 and takes the opportunity of informing the Honourable 
 House, that having lately had occasion to bring those 
 services under the notice of the Secretary of State, the 
 Lieutenant-Governor felt it his duty to bear testimony 
 to the conscientiousness and efficiency vs^ith w^hich Mr. 
 Borcherds discharges his duties, and to the respect and 
 esteem entertained for him by the inhabitants of the 
 Colony at large.' 
 
 On the 20th September, 1854, the Legislative 
 Council also presented to His Honour the Lieutenant- 
 Governor, by address, a resolution (the draft was 
 brought up by Sir Andries Stockenstrom) unanimously 
 adopted, stating : 
 
 " We, the president and members of the Legislative 
 Council in Parliament assembled, having taken into 
 consideration the long and valuable services rendered to 
 this colony for upw^ards of fifty years by P. B. Bor- 
 cherds, Esq., civil commissioner of the Cape district, 
 fifty-one years vs^hereof have been devoted to the service 
 of the British crown, respectfully request that your 
 Honour may be pleased to bring the said services to the 
 particular notice of Her Majesty's Government, with a 
 view that Her Majesty may be graciously pleased to 
 bestow on Mr. Borcherds such mark of approbation as 
 in her wisdom she shall see fit.' 
 
 And His Honour replied by message : " That he 
 would have much pleasure in communicating to Her 
 Majesty's Government this resolution, in terms of the 
 message returned to the House of Assembly, as above 
 stated."
 
 327 
 
 And these addresses were forwarded on the 19th 
 October following to the Secretary of State. However, 
 no reply was received. 
 
 On the 4th of May, 1 855, His Excellency the Gov- 
 ernor, Sir George Grey, forwarded a message to the 
 House of Assembly, stating : " In reference to the 
 address of the House of Assembly presented to the 
 Lieutenant-Governor on the 19th September last, the 
 Governor now transmits to the House of Assembly the 
 accompanying papers connected with the claims of Mr. 
 Borcherds. Among these will be found copies of two 
 despatches addressed by the Lieutenant-Governor to the 
 Secretary of State upon this subject. 
 
 " In his despatch of the 19th of October, the 
 Lieutenant-Governor states : ' That he has no doubt 
 that Parliament will concur in the grant to Mr. Borcherds 
 of any sum of money or additional allowance which 
 Her Majesty's Government may deem fitting and just 
 under the circumstances of his case.' 
 
 " The Governor thinks it right to call the attention of 
 the Assembly to this subject, because there appears little 
 probability of his receiving an answer from the Secretary 
 of State to the Lieutenant-Governor's despatch regard- 
 ing Mr. Borcherds' claims before this session ter- 
 minates. 
 
 " The Governor also considers it most probable that 
 Her Majesty's Government will be unwilling to come to 
 any conclusion upon the nature and amount of any 
 special grant that should be made to Mr. Borcherds, 
 because the case is an unusual one, not provided for in 
 the colonial regulations ; and it will most likely appear 
 to them fitting that the same body from which the.
 
 328 
 
 recommendation in Mr. Borcherds' favour has ema- 
 nated should decide in what manner and to what extent 
 his claims should be met. 
 
 " The Governor assures the Assembly that he will be 
 happy to concur with Parliament in doing that which 
 may be thought just and right in the case." 
 
 On a motion of Mr. Advocate Watermeyer (at present 
 a judge of the Supreme Court), the House resolved itself 
 into a committee on the Governors message above 
 mentioned, — Mr. John Barry in the chair. 
 
 Mr. Watermeyer spoke — as reported in the Commer- 
 cial Advertiser of 5th May, 1855 — in high terms of 
 the meritorious and unremittino- labours of Mr. Bor- 
 cherds since the year 1800, when he entered the public 
 service, and moved, " That in consideration of the 
 importance of Mr. Borcherds' services in the colony 
 during a period of fifty-five years, a gratuity be granted 
 to him of £1,000, and that an addition be made to his 
 salary of £100 per annum," 
 
 He was seconded by Mr. Maynard. 
 
 Mr. Arderne thought £1,000 not sufficient and would 
 support a vote of a larger sum. 
 
 The Auditor-General, the Hon. Wm. Hope, expressed 
 his high sense of the long and faithful services of Mr. 
 Borcherds, who, notwithstanding his advanced age, was 
 always ready to take any amount of work that could be 
 put upon him. He considered, however, that an addi- 
 tion of salary would not answer the generous intentions 
 of the House, considering the age of Mr. Borcherds, 
 and he would suggest that a larger gratuity, without an 
 increase of salary, would better meet the circumstances 
 of the case.
 
 329 
 
 Mr. Paterson, Mr. Fairbairn, Dr. Abercrombie, and 
 several other speakers expressed their approval of this 
 suggestion, and on a motion by Mr. Paterson, it w^as 
 unanimously resolved that the gratuity be £"2,000, with- 
 out an increase of salary. 
 
 On a motion by Mr. Ziervogel, seconded by Mr. 
 Jarvis, it was resolved that the resolution now adopted 
 be transmitted to His Excellency the Governor by 
 address. 
 
 In the Legislative Council, Mr. Rutherfoord moved 
 that the item on the estimates, " Grant to the Civil 
 Commissioner, P. B. Borcherds, £2,000," do stand. 
 
 Mr. Wood proposed as an amendment that it should 
 only be £1,000. 
 
 Sir Andries Stockenstrom said : " If it were not for the 
 principle that the Council cannot add a single iota to 
 the sums laid down in the estimates, he would have 
 wished to have considerably increased this item. He 
 could not believe that even his honourable and learned 
 friend (Mr. de Wet) would oppose this grant. He 
 could show that if they would be truly economical, they 
 must have such men as Mr. Borcherds in their service. 
 Mr. Borcherds was entitled to a pension of £200 per 
 annum in 1828, and if he had taken that and resorted to 
 some other mode of livelihood, he might now have been 
 a rich man. His £200 per annum has been saved since 
 1828, for you would have had to pay another magis- 
 trate, had he not filled that office. In 1834, £200 was 
 deducted from his salary ; it was a cruel thing to him 
 to have to step down from the bench to take an inferior 
 situation. He might have become a farmer, or a mer- 
 chant, and pocketed his £200 per annum. He might have
 
 330 
 
 retired afterwards on a pension of £460, when his salary 
 was reduced from £800 to £600. He might thus have 
 pocketed £9,600; but he remained at his office without 
 complaining of the reduction. He only said that it was 
 unfortunate. We talked yesterday of magistrates, and the 
 difficulty of getting them. Now, when we have such a 
 magistrate as this, struggling through life, latterly in 
 distress, with a family to support, after fifty-five years of 
 toil in the public service, a man whose patriotism has 
 saved the colony in cash upwards of £10,000, are you 
 going to allow him to be crushed by misfortunes .'' 
 What is £2,000 for such a man ? When the Council 
 asked for £2 for a man who did not deserve it, he would 
 heartily join with his honourable friend (Mr. Wood), but 
 now he hoped that his honourable friend would not cast 
 a sort of reflection on that grant, which ought to have 
 been given with all possible grace. He should be 
 extremely sorry to see the amendment pressed. 
 
 " The President (Chief Justice Sir John Wylde) would 
 give his most cordial support to the motion. With 
 regard to the amount, he thought that the last speaker 
 had proved that it was no remuneration but a sum of 
 money that was due. The question is not whether we 
 should give a present, but whether we should pay a 
 debt that is fairly due. If he thought the colony could 
 not pay it now, he would rather make it a funded debt 
 of the colony than refuse payment. 
 
 " Mr. Godlonton rose to state that with the highest 
 respect for the character of Mr. Borcherds and a close 
 appreciation of the many services he had rendered to 
 the country, he had intended to support his honourable 
 friend (Mr. M^ood), but he must confess after what he
 
 331 
 
 had heard from the honourable Baronet, that he was 
 not now disposed to do so. And he hoped that his 
 honourable friend would withdraw his amendment. 
 
 "Mr. Ebden supported the motion. He considered 
 that the Council would be acting contrary to every 
 principle of honour and justice should it refuse this 
 just claim of Mr. Borcherds, who was now old and 
 embarrassed. 
 
 " Mr. de Wet would not speak against the original 
 motion, but he felt called upon to say that he should 
 vote against it. 
 
 " The amendment for £1,000 was put and lost without 
 a division, and the item (£2,000) passed."' 
 
 On the 4th May, 1855 (incidentally the forty-ninth 
 anniversary of my wedding-day), the House of Assembly 
 sent an address to His Excellency the Governor, Sir 
 George Grey, stating : 
 
 " In conformity with a resolution of the House of 
 Assembly adopted this day, I have the honour respect- 
 fully to request that, in consideration of the importance 
 of Mr. P. B. Borcherds' services to this colony during 
 a period of fifty-five years, your Excellency may be 
 pleased to cause to be placed on the estimates a gratuity 
 of £2,000 to be paid to that gentleman. 
 
 (Signed) " C. J. Brand, Speaker." 
 
 And His Excellency returned a message, as follows : 
 " The Governor begs to acquaint the Honourable the 
 House of Assembly that in compliance with the terms 
 of their address of the 4th instant, he will direct that a 
 sum of £2,000 shall be placed on the estimates as a 
 gratuity to Mr. Borcherds, in consideration of the
 
 332 
 
 importance of the services which that gentleman has 
 rendered to this colony during a period of fifty-five 
 years." 
 
 And I received a letter from the Colonial Office, 
 dated 9th June, J 855, acquainting me that the legis- 
 lature of this colony had, by an act passed in the last 
 session, granted me a sum of £2,000 in consideration 
 of my long public services in this colony and of my 
 claim upon the liberality of Parliament, arising out of 
 the loss which I had experienced by the reduction made 
 some years ago in the salary which I had enjoyed ; 
 mentioning also : 
 
 " It has afforded His Excellency much pleasure to 
 recommend and sanction this act of the two Houses. 
 The special acknowledgment and reward of the services 
 of a public officer by the legislature is a mark of 
 distinction, which cannot fail to be the more prized 
 by the individual so honoured, as it is one of rare 
 occurrence. 
 
 "His Excellency congratulates you upon having been 
 the first officer to receive it from the newly constituted 
 Parliament of this colony. 
 
 " I feel much gratification at being the channel of 
 making this communication to you, and being able to 
 inform you that you can receive the amount at the 
 treasury whenever it shall be convenient for you to 
 claim it. 
 
 " I have, &c., 
 (Signed) "Rawson W. Rawson, 
 " Colonial Secretary.'
 
 333 
 
 My reply to the Colonial Secretary of the 1 1 th 
 following was thus : 
 
 " Sir, — I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt 
 of your letter of the 9th instant, acquainting me that 
 the legislature of this colony had, by an act passed in 
 the late session, granted me a sum of £2,000. 
 
 " I feel higiily honoured by the favourable considera- 
 tion of my services. My gratitude I hope to express 
 by rendering all further services in my power in pro- 
 moting the public interests of this colony whilst it 
 pleases Providence to spare and enable me to do so. 
 
 " To His Excellency the Governor I beg to express 
 my heartfelt thanks for his recommendation and sanc- 
 tion of that act of the two Houses. The special 
 acknowledgment and reward of my services as a public 
 officer by the legislature is indeed a mark of distinction 
 highly prized and honoured' by me, and I consider 
 myself eminently distinguished by being, as you observed, 
 the first officer to receive such a reward from the newly- 
 constituted Parliament of this colony. 
 
 "Allow me to express to you, sir, my deep sense of 
 obligation for your kind furtherance of my case, both in 
 Parliament and with my superiors. The amount so 
 liberally granted will be indeed to me and mine a great 
 relief, and remove from my mind much anxiety and 
 care. In fact, it will contribute most materially to my 
 comfort and ease in the days of advanced age, and 
 approaching close of my long career." 
 
 I commemorate this gracious act of liberality with 
 feelings of deep gratitude to Him who thus favourably 
 disposed the hearts of men to my relief; and to those 
 gentlemen who so deeply felt and supported my cause.
 
 334 
 
 The grant, I repeat, was the saving of myself and 
 family. 
 
 The illness of Major Wolfe, magistrate of Wynberg 
 and acting judge and superintendent of police in Cape 
 Town, and his subsequent demise, and the absence on 
 leave of the superintendent. Baron de Lorentz, in 
 Europe, caused my being appointed, in addition to my 
 other duties, to act for the Baron from 13th March, 
 1855, to 29th May, 1856, and I received, through the 
 Colonial Secretary, His Excellency the Governors high 
 appreciation of the zeal and efficiency with which I 
 had discharged these extra duties during the long 
 protracted absence of the Baron in England. 
 
 In December, 1856, however, I was attacked with 
 serious and alarming dyspepsia, attended with great 
 exhaustion of nervous energy ; and it was the opinion 
 of my physician, Doctor Samuel Bailey, that under 
 my advanced age of seventy years, the sedentary life 
 and mental exertion to which I was obliged to submit 
 (especially in my magisterial capacity in Cape Town 
 under protracted sessions in court, together with my 
 other duties) must lead to a similar attack, — from which 
 in January following I had but partially recovered, — 
 and ultimately prove fatal. 
 
 And this opinion being corroborated by Doctor 
 Eveleigh, who had previously attended me, and the 
 duties of office being considerably increased by an 
 extended jurisdiction (added to the desire which I had 
 long cherished to lead a domestic and retired life, after 
 a long period of severe public service, and now ad- 
 vanced in age), I resolved to apply, by memorial of 
 19th January, 1857, for the superannuation allowance
 
 335 
 
 fixed by the regulations mentioned by circular from 
 the Colonial Office of 1st March, 1852, and the Act of 
 Parliament, and also the Treasury Minute thereto 
 attached ; and I received from the Colonial Office a 
 letter dated 27th February, 1857, stating as follows: 
 
 " Sir, — I am directed by His Excellency the Gov- 
 ernor to convey to you his acceptance of the resignation 
 of offices of Civil Commissioner and Resident Magis- 
 trate tendered in your letter of 19tli ultimo. 
 
 " The delay in intimating this to you has arisen from 
 the necessity of attending to certain formalities before 
 deciding on your application. But His Excellency has 
 consulted your wish by losing no time in making 
 arrangements for relieving you from the duties of your 
 offices, and your retirement will date from the 1st 
 instant. 
 
 " His Excellency, before his departure for the fron- 
 tier, directed me, when I made that communication to 
 you, to express to you his sense of the value of your 
 public services throughout the unusually long period 
 during which you have been employed under Her 
 Majesty's Government in this colony, and of the ability 
 and unwearied zeal with which you have executed the 
 various offices with which you have been intrusted. 
 His Excellency is not unmindful that some of these 
 duties, and not the least onerous or responsible, have 
 been discharged without any remuneration. 
 
 " It has fallen to your lot, and few have enjoyed a 
 similar privilege, to receive from the colonial legis- 
 lature an unusual recognition of the claims which you 
 possess on the consideration and liberality of your fel- 
 low-countrymen.
 
 336 
 
 "Your resignation lias been the signal for all those 
 who have been more recently connected with you in 
 your official duties to offer you the homage of their 
 respect and regard. 
 
 " His Excellency would deem it a serious loss to the 
 Government and the public to be deprived of your 
 services, if he did not feel that, after a continuous and 
 increasing employment of more than half a century, 
 these could be further prolonged only at risk of your 
 health, which he hopes you may long enjoy, to enable 
 you still to give your services in those less onerous 
 offices in which you have expressed your readiness to 
 continue to act. 
 
 " His Excellency will recommend to Her Majesty's 
 Government to grant you a retiring allowance equal to 
 the full amount of your late salary and allowance, viz., 
 £600 per annum, and he will allow you to draw that 
 amount from the 1st instant." 
 
 " I have, &c.,'' 
 
 (Signed) " Rawson W. Rawson, 
 
 " Colonial Secretary." 
 
 This letter was published in the Government Gazette 
 of 20th March, 1857, with the following notice: 
 
 " Colonial Office, Cape of Good Hope, 
 
 18th March, 1857. 
 " His Excellency the Governor having been pleased 
 to allow Petrus Borchardus Borcherds, Esq., to resign 
 the appointment which he lately held of Civil Com- 
 missioner and Resident Magistrate of the Cape Division, 
 after an uninterrupted employment of upwards of
 
 337 
 
 fifty-six years in the public service of this colony, has 
 considered it due to so old and meritorious a public 
 servant to make known the high opinion entertained 
 by His Excellency of Mr. Borcherds' public conduct, 
 and the terms in vv^hich, on retirement, his services have 
 been acknow^ledged. 
 
 "His Excellency has therefore directed the publication 
 of the annexed (abovementioned) letter, addressed to Mr. 
 Borcherds by the Colonial Secretary. 
 
 "By Command of His Excellency the Governor, 
 (Signed) " Rawson W. Rawson, 
 
 "Colonial Secretary." 
 
 My reply was dated 4th March following, and in 
 acknowledging the receipt of that letter, I stated thus : 
 
 " His Excellency's kind expressions with regard to 
 my public services have been indeed most gratifying to 
 my feelings, and I beg to request you will have the 
 goodness to communicate to His Excellency the high 
 sense and estimate attached by me to the sentiments 
 expressed in 3^our letter. 
 
 " If my services have been productive of public 
 good, I can with truth affirm that they have ever been 
 rendered to the best of my ability from a sense of duty 
 and from a sincere attachment to the Government I have 
 so long had the honour to serve. 
 
 " I could not expect greater reward, or anything more 
 pleasing to my feelings, than your mentioning that my 
 resignation has been the signal for all those who had 
 been more recently connected with me in my official 
 duties, to offer me the homage of their respect and 
 regard.
 
 338 
 
 " To the good opinion of my superiors and fellow- 
 servants I have always attached great value, and their 
 recent testimonials after my long period of service have j 
 produced in my mind sentiments of the most sincere 
 thankfulness and gratitude. 
 
 "Allow me to assure His Excellency of my conti- 
 nued readiness to render my services when and wherever 
 they may be deemed acceptable to promote the public 
 good ; and be pleased personally to receive my thanks 
 for your own kind and courteous consideration." 
 
 Having been offered by the Colonial Secretary to 
 continue as chairman of the Central Road Board, I 
 considered that my successor, Capt. Hill, might from 
 his daily attendance in town be more ready and at hand 
 to perform the duties required, and declared myself 
 willino- to continue as an unofficial member in the 
 room of Mr. Reitz, who had resigned, and I was con- 
 sequently appointed by proclamation of 28th February, 
 1857; so that at present I still hold that situation, and 
 that of justice of the peace in Cape Town and district, 
 member of the committee under Ordinance 97 for 
 registry of certain lands, road magistrate, and govern- 
 ment member of the council of the South African 
 College. 
 
 The last, and not least gratifying to my feelings, was 
 the subscription list opened in May, 1857, for a piece 
 of plate, to be presented to me as late Civil Commis- 
 sioner and Resident Magistrate, as a token of the high 
 regard and esteem in which I was held by the inhabi- 
 tants of Cape Town and district. ■. ;. 
 
 It was headed by Mr. Robert Granger, a merchant in 
 Cape Town, and signed by upwards of one hundred and
 
 339 
 
 sixty subscribers, amongst whom were His Excellency 
 the Governor, the Colonial Secretary, the Treasurer- 
 General, the Attorney-General, the Auditor-General, 
 the Astronomer Royal, a Judge of the Supreme Court, 
 the Civil Engineer, and others of distinction, and 
 many of the respectable merchants and kind friends in 
 town and country, and amounted to upwards of £140. 
 
 On the 6th of June following a meeting was held in 
 the committee-room of the Public Library. E. Lands- 
 berg, Esq., a merchant and member of the Central Road 
 Board, was in the chair, and the undermentioned gen- 
 tlemen were appointed to form a committee for carrying 
 out the arrangements for the testimonial, viz. : 
 
 The Honourable W. Porter, the Honourable W. 
 Hope, Messrs. J. D. Thomson, E. Landsberg, and John 
 Reid, and Mr. John Honey as treasurer and secretary. 
 
 It being understood that it was my wish that the 
 plate to be presented should be in nine pieces, so that 
 I might bequeath one of them as a heirloom to each of 
 my children, the committee resolved to act accordingly. 
 
 Consequently, my friend Mr. Alexander Macdonald, 
 of the house of Macdonald, Busk, & Co., being in 
 England, was requested to order the plate and manage 
 the executing and forwarding the same to this colony. 
 (We were, incidentally, born in the same house.) 
 
 It arrived safe in January, 1858, and consists of a 
 silver cup, inscribed as follows : " Tribute to impartial 
 administration of justice with mercy," and the names of 
 the committee above mentioned ; 
 Two candelabras; 
 A soup tureen; 
 
 Six dishes of electro-plate, silver mounted, 
 
 z 2
 
 340 
 
 each bearing the following inscription : " Testimo- 
 nial to Petrus Borchardus Borcherds, Esq., Civil 
 Commissioner and Resident Magistrate for Cape Town, 
 presented on his retirement, 1st February, 1857, after a 
 service of fifty-six years in the Colony of the Cape of 
 Good Hope, by his friends, as a token of esteem and 
 regard ;" -and the family coat of arms ; to which was 
 added the motto I adopted, " Solo Deus salus," " Sal- 
 vation in God alone," in Dutch, " Heil alleen van 
 God." 
 
 On Saturday, the 6th February, 1858, a large number 
 of the principal inhabitants of Cape Town assembled 
 in the Commercial Exchange for the purpose of pre- 
 senting to my friend, Mr. Robert Granger, and myself, 
 the public testimonials which had recently arrived from 
 England. Mr. Granger's was from his fellow-citizens, 
 as a mark of their admiration of the noble and humane 
 act which he performed just a year before, when he 
 was the means under Providence of saving nine lives 
 from a wreck at Green Point. 
 
 On the motion of Captain J. M. Hill (my successor), 
 the Honourable Mr. Justice Bell (acting Chief Justice) 
 took the chair, and stated the object of the meeting, 
 which was to do honour to a magistrate who had dis- 
 charged magisterial and other public functions in this 
 colony for fifty-six years. His (the learned judge's) 
 own personal experience did not warrant him in saying 
 anything except this, that during the time he had been 
 in the colony — the Attorney-General would correct him 
 if he was wrong — only one appeal had been made from 
 Mr. Borcherds' judgments. If, therefore, he did not 
 know more of him it was perhaps his own fault. If his
 
 341 
 
 decisions had been less satisfactory to the piibhc, he 
 would no doubt have known more about them. 
 
 The Attorney-General (the Honourable W. Porter) 
 said : 
 
 " Mr, Borcherds, I have been requested by the 
 subscribers to the testimonial now upon the table to 
 present it to you in their name and on their behalf. 
 The duty of doing so is to myself personally a very 
 grateful one. But grateful as it is, I should have 
 declined it, had it been one that would have demanded 
 from me a laboured or lengthened address, or more than 
 a few simple and sincere words expressive of the feelings 
 of regard and esteem which are embodied in this 
 testimonial. Were I to dwell upon, or even shortly to 
 recount, the various steps of your long career in this 
 colony (a career which began before men who are now 
 advanced in life were born), I should be led into great 
 and wholly unnecessary detail. The public know your 
 history already and do not need that it should be repeated. 
 From the day when as a stripling you first entered 
 the service of the public, under the then Government 
 of this colony, to the day when after completing the 
 six and fifty years of public service, just referred to by 
 the learned judge who fills the chair, you retired from 
 official life, your integrity, your diligence, and your 
 prudence were such as to obtain at once the warm 
 approval of your superiors in office, and of your fellow- 
 citizens of every class, and creed, and colour (cheers). 
 
 " The latest and chiefest of your labours were 
 connected with the administration of justice. You gave 
 satisfaction to the suitors in your court, so that of your 
 decisions scarcely any were appealed from, and almost
 
 342 
 
 none reversed (the learned judge has spoken of but one 
 appeal, and even that I think not ending in reversal) : 
 these are things of record. But the degree in which 
 for eighteen years I was conversant with your pro- 
 ceedings as a magistrate, and occasionally consulted 
 upon them, enables me more than most men to bear 
 testimony to the love of justice by which you were 
 animated, and to the sense of responsibility under which 
 you made it a matter of duty to weigh and consider 
 the case of the humblest individual in the community, 
 just as much as the case of the personage of the highest 
 social station (cheers). And you have had your reward. 
 In saying this, I do not refer to written testimonials 
 from governors and high functionaries, of which you 
 possess very many ; nor do I refer to the great and 
 unprecedented honour which was done to you by the 
 Parliament of this colony, by a vote of which the 
 pecuniary value to a man far from wealthy was but the 
 smallest portion of its worth. I refer to a reward higher 
 and more to be prized than testimonials of governors and 
 votes of parliament, the cordial and universal regard, and 
 esteem of your fellow-colonists, for, except as a token of 
 regard and esteem, the plate now before you could be of 
 small value. But such as it is, the subscribers present it | 
 to you, in the hope that you will accept it in the kind and , 
 good feeling in which it is given, — that you may long 
 live to use it, — and that when in God's good time, full of 
 years and usefulness, you shall rest from your labours, 
 it may serve to remind your children that they are the 
 descendants of a man who, during a long life, preserved 
 in public and private an unspotted reputation, and left 
 to them an inheritance more precious than silver and i
 
 343 
 
 gold, — that of an upright character and honourable 
 name (cheers). Sir! with these remarks, I now, on 
 behalf of the subscribers, present to you their testi- 
 monial." 
 
 My reply was as follows : 
 
 " Gentlemen, — To receive at the close of my public 
 career of upwards of half a century a testimonial of regard 
 and esteem by those who had an opportunity of observing 
 my proceedings as a public functionary, is a position 
 imposing obligations and a debt of gratitude which I 
 never can adequately discharge. It raises feelings and 
 sentiments which I may attempt to impart, but my 
 feeble language cannot perfectly convey. To His Excel- 
 lency the Governor, to the several civil servants, to 
 many of our respectable merchants, and to those of my 
 fellow-citizens who have done me the honour to 
 subscribe to the testimonial now presented, and espe- 
 cially to my, on this day, distinguished friend, Mr. Robert 
 Granger, who opened the list as a subscriber, I feel 
 indeed much obliged. To the gentlemen of the 
 committee who so kindly undertook to manage and 
 order the plate, and to the honorary secretary, Mr. John 
 Honey, who took an active share in the arrangements, 
 I beg to ojflfer my sincere acknowledgments. To my 
 friend, Mr. Alexander Macdonald, who being in England 
 had the kindness, as I am informed, to forward the 
 object of the subscribers, I feel also much indebted for 
 the trouble taken and interest shown in this instance. I 
 intend, gentlemen, to leave and divide this plate amongst 
 my children, so that they and their descendants may 
 commemorate with gratitude the distinction shown 
 to their ancestor on this to them and mvself memorable
 
 344 
 
 day, I hope also that this munificent reward may 
 prompt those attached to the pubhc service to exert them- 
 selves for the public benefit and welfare of our community 
 at large, being now convinced that among the South 
 Africans there are those who will not overlook merit. 
 Alluding to the ' administration of justice tempered 
 with mercy,' as expressed in the inscription, I can only 
 state that often feeling how temptation and opportunity 
 (if not preserved) could have placed me in the position 
 of those who were to suffer under the pains and penalties 
 of the law, I could not refrain from leaning to mercy. 
 I felt but too strongly how imperfect we are, under 
 execution of the most solemn duties, notwithstanding 
 the best resolutions and intentions. With these senti- 
 ments I will now accept the handsome testimonial 
 presented, and retire to my quiet retreat, under the hope 
 and prayer that I may in the bosom of my family as yet 
 be spared to rejoice in this and many other blessings 
 which a benevolent Father has in His mercy bestowed 
 on me, and to remember my friends, who have so 
 evidently shown their good-will towards me. And now, 
 worthy Attorney-General, allow me to remark how 
 much I feel for the honour of your presenting the testi- 
 monial on behalf of the subscribers, and the mode of 
 expressing your sentiments. I am afraid that your 
 kind feeling overrated my deserts. Receive, on this 
 occasion, my special thanks for the legal advice you 
 have given me whenever requested, and the candid and 
 courteous manner in which you responded to my official 
 appeals. You have in that and other respects been to } 
 me a warm friend ; never did I apply in vain. And I 
 lastl}^, gentlemen, I take leave with feelings of real '
 
 345 
 
 gratitude ; and as it may probably be my last appearance 
 on the stage of public life, let me once more assure you 
 that I attach great value to the good opinion entertained 
 by so many friends. Receive my best wishes for your 
 welfare and success in life, and remember with indul- 
 gence and kindness your now aged — but still to your 
 public cause — devoted countryman and friend (cheers)." 
 
 What my feelings were on the occasion I can hardly 
 describe. Under the display of such a substantial proof 
 of esteem and regard, so publicly and handsomely shown, 
 I was overpowered, and happy to find a moment of 
 retreat and relief to give vent to the effects it had 
 produced. 
 
 Thus closed a career of public life in this colony, 
 I believe unprecedented for length, connected with 
 important and interesting circumstances. 
 
 My chief object in publishing this plain narrative is : 
 
 1. To express to my superiors in the most public and 
 
 lasting manner, in my power, my gratitude for 
 protection, and the graceful mode in which 
 my retirement was granted. 
 
 2. To acknowledge to the Parliament of my country 
 
 my relief, by their grant of a gratuity and 
 the just and equitable decision in my case. 
 
 3. To thank my fellow-servants, citizens, and friends 
 
 for the noble manner in which they testified 
 their esteem and regard, by presenting a 
 handsome tribute, intended to be kept in 
 remembrance by myself and my descendants. 
 
 4. To leave to my young countrymen and offspring 
 
 engaged in the pubhc service of my native 
 land, an example, and advice, to persevere in
 
 346 
 
 tlie course of their respective duties, even 
 under painful and gloomy prospects. 
 
 5. To show that in the service of this country there is 
 
 honour as well as a pecuniary reward, on 
 properly reaching the termination of a public 
 course. 
 
 6. To have an opportunity of confessing that after 
 
 careful review of my life, I have to regret 
 that "much has been left undone which ought 
 to have been done, and much has been done 
 which ought not to have been done," and that 
 I am conscious that many imperfections and 
 shortcomings mark the traces of my public 
 and private life ; and under such conviction, 
 and feelings I hope the indulgent reader will 
 not censure that which appears as if mentioned 
 to my own praise, for I could not state the 
 truth without relating facts as they occurred. 
 
 7. To close with my expression of humble thanks to 
 
 the great Disposer of my fate for His infinite 
 
 goodness and mercy shown up to this my 
 
 advanced day of life ; so that I may say, 
 
 " Bless the Lord, my soul, and forget not 
 
 all His benefits." 
 
 And now I will continue my narrative by adding 
 
 some sections connected with more of my proceedings 
 
 in public and private life, collected since writing the 
 
 above, at Bellevue, Wynberg, and closed 24th April, 
 
 1858. These, I believe, will be read not without some 
 
 interest, especially by my colonial friends. 
 
 I
 
 347 
 
 SECTION XIV. 
 
 In November, 1851, after the second reading of an 
 ordinance for preventing the practice of setthng or 
 squatting on Government land in the Legislative Coun- 
 cil, it appeared that reports were in circulation in some 
 districts in the west of the Colony which had excited 
 and continued to excite very great and general alarm. 
 The reports were to the effect that the coloured classes 
 in those districts meditated a simultaneous attack upon 
 the white population for the purpose of destroying 
 them, and of then assuming the ownership of the 
 country; and that the approaching Istof December (being 
 the anniversary day of the emancipation of slavery in 
 this colony) had been fixed upon for the execution of 
 this murderous design; and Government deemed it 
 necessary to appoint Messrs. F. B. Pinney, resident 
 magistrate of Simon s Town, and C. Piers, of Tulbagh, 
 and myself as commissioners to inquire without delay 
 into the origin and foundation of the reports in question. 
 
 We received special instructions dated 20th Novem- 
 ber, 1851, stating the views of Government. The 
 appointment of the commission was not to be taken as 
 evidence that the Government gave credit to these re- 
 ports ; but the inquiry had been decided upon in the 
 confidence that the effect of it would be to dispel the 
 alarm under which the inhabitants of Koeberg, Tyger- 
 berg, and a few other places had for some time laboured, 
 by showing that it rested upon no adequate foundation. 
 
 We were authorized to cause the arrest and commit- 
 tal of any person who should be proved to have said or 
 done anything manifesting :
 
 348 
 
 1. That there is a conspiracy in existence to effect 
 
 some unlawful end, in which conspiracy the 
 person in question is a participator; or 
 
 2. That the person in question has, by some advised 
 
 speaking, solicited others to form such a con- 
 spiracy. No person against whom such 
 charges shall have been substantiated could 
 be permitted at large without adding to the 
 existing alarm ; but the commissioners will at 
 the same time bear in mind that nothing 
 could more powerfully contribute to obtain 
 belief for the worst reports in circulation than 
 arrests and committals ; and that if they be 
 satisfied that no deliberate plot or plan has 
 been concocted, it is not at every random 
 word uttered at the time when the coloured 
 classes see themselves suspected, that should 
 be held to justify such grave and serious 
 proceedings. 
 A portion of the inquiry was further to ascertain : 
 
 1. Whether the restlessness, if any, of the coloured 
 
 classes has arisen from, or is in any way 
 connected with, the Squatters Bill before 
 Council ? 
 
 2. Whether, in the opinion of the farmers and others 
 
 of the districts which the commissioners are 
 about to visit, such a law as that then before 
 the Council was needed ? 
 
 3. Whether the measure is considered by those 
 
 favourable to its principle to be one which 
 should be enacted at the present time, and if 
 not, why not ? 
 
 J
 
 349 
 
 With such instructions the tone in our intercourse 
 with the inhabitants with whom we were to mix was 
 mainly to depend upon the resuks of our inquiry ; and 
 if we were happily satisfied that there was no real 
 ground of alarm, it was considered important and bene- 
 ficial to explain misconceptions, so as to reduce alarm- 
 ing rumours to their true magnitude, and we were by 
 every means within our reach to endeavour to restore 
 public confidence. 
 
 Being chairman of the Commissioners, 1 was con- 
 sidered, as resident magistrate of the Cape district, to 
 possess all necessary powers for carrying out the in- 
 tended inquiry ; and we were, besides, furnished with 
 commissions constituting us justices of the peace of 
 Malmesbury and Worcester. 
 
 In consequence of these instructions we proceeded 
 to the country, and after fifteen days' absence reported : 
 
 That we had slightly deviated from the route laid 
 down in our instructions by visiting, in addition to 
 D'Urban, Malmesbury, and Worcester, the following 
 places, viz., Groenekloof, Tulbagh, Wellington, Paarl, 
 and Stellenbosch ; and as the same alarm was not every 
 where equally manifest, we took each place separately 
 and reviewed, 
 
 1. The actual state of feelino^ subsisting- at our 
 
 arrival. 
 
 2. The ground of alarm as elicited from evidence 
 
 obtained on the spot. 
 
 3. The nature and value of the evidence tendered 
 
 to us. 
 
 4. The apparent effect of our proceedings.
 
 350 
 
 And we could report confidently : 
 
 " That we had not discovered the trace of any con- 
 spiracy on the part of the coloured population, and that 
 we firmly believed no such intention did exist in their 
 minds." 
 
 We were satisfied that a panic of no ordinary descrip- 
 tion had existed, and still existed, though far less on 
 the part of the farmers, particularly of Koeberg and 
 Malmesbury. 
 
 At D'Urban we examined twenty-two witnesses, and 
 were met by a large concourse of farmers in the utmost 
 consternation. Reports of the most alarming and 
 exaggerated description were rife ; and altogether the 
 sensation evinced far exceeded in degree that painful 
 condition for which we had been prepared by the 
 documents which had been laid before Council. 
 
 The houses in the villages were deserted, numbers of 
 the families had congregated in one dwelling towards 
 evening, where they remained till the next morning — 
 the inhabitants had armed themselves and were patrol- 
 ing in small bodies. During our stay the alarm con- 
 tinued, notwithstanding the opportunity we took (which 
 a numerous assemblage at church on an intervening- 
 Sabbath gave us) to quiet as much as lay in our power 
 the fears that were aroused. Ijj 
 
 We were frequently shocked by the unscrupulous 
 assertions of some and the mischievous proceedings of 
 others of the witnesses, such conduct having an evident 
 tendency to debase a class whose welfare and social 
 improvement has ever been, and still was, an object of 
 much solicitude with the British Government.
 
 351 
 
 We found that an influential inhabitant had not only 
 studiously made a collection of all the idle rumours 
 afloat (as to the reported rise of the blacks at this end 
 of the Colony,) but had taken the utmost pains to 
 circulate the same. In his notice he represented the 
 imminent danger to be apprehended from the coloured 
 classes on a particular day, entering minutely into the 
 details of the plan to be carried out by them, Sec, and 
 prescribing the course to be pursued by the farmers, 
 when that day should arrive. The course by him 
 adopted was one of peculiar mischief, well calculated to 
 inspire alarm, and produce the consequent panic which 
 we so unhappily witnessed. 
 
 Under examination his replies were extremely vague 
 and contradictory, and so pitiable indeed was his posi- 
 tion under cross-examination, that could we have 
 banished design from our thoughts, and be certain that 
 he was the only source of mischief, we would willingly 
 have attributed his part to a mixture of self-importance 
 and imbecility. 
 
 The inquiry closed with our conviction that the 
 reports spread were unfounded, and we had the satis- 
 faction to find on our quitting D' Urban that the alarm 
 had in a great measure subsided. 
 
 We further proceeded to the missionary station at 
 Groenekloof, and calling at the houses of various influ- 
 ential farmers, communicated the result of our inquiry. 
 A charge had been made against two Hottentots of that 
 institution, which, on being sifted, proved of the usual 
 slender description. 
 
 We had every assistance from the missionaries, and left 
 the place under the firm conviction that suspicions of
 
 352 
 
 disquietude at Groenekloof at any rate must be un- 
 founded ; and our previously formed opinion received 
 strength from the fact that the whole of the population, 
 (saving only a few of the old people) were, according 
 to custom, at the season of the year out harvesting. 
 
 Proceeding to Malmesbury next, we found on our 
 arrival the magistrate's office literally crowded by the 
 farmers of the district ; rumours of the most exciting 
 character prevailed, and apparently a general stagna- 
 tion in the business of the harvest. We had a long; 
 examination of witnesses, but could not extract any one 
 particular to warrant even the supposition of a deli- 
 berate conspiracy among the coloured classes. The 
 evidence was principally hearsay, founded on conjecture 
 and signifying nothing. But one man had been heard 
 to make use of language (although it was supposed only 
 in jest) which was construed as conveying hostile intent 
 towards the farmers. 
 
 Reports, however, from a distance of a most false and 
 malignant character kept pouring in during our stay at 
 Malmesbury. The magistrate, Mr. W. Bergh, proceeded 
 to Berg River and St. Helena Bay, from whence these 
 unfounded rumours had come. 
 
 A report having reached us that a number of farmers 
 of the district and their families had assembled at the 
 place of Field-commandant Lochner, about eight or ten 
 miles from the village, there to meet the dreaded out- 
 break by the coloured people, we repaired thither en 
 route to Tulbagh. Reports had not exaggerated the 
 picture of grief and distress at that farm. On entering 
 the house we beheld a large number of women and 
 children in a pitiable state of alarm, reading their
 
 353 
 
 bibles and hymns and other religions books. Their 
 fathers and hnsbands (about seventy-five in number) 
 were all provided with arms. We endeavoured to 
 impress upon these panic-stricken people the ground- 
 lessness of their fears, but with little effect, and we left 
 the place an hour afterwards, urging in the most earnest 
 manner upon the field commandant the necessity for 
 using his influence to the same end. 
 
 We understood that, literally, some of the farms had 
 been left in charge of the coloured people, who proceeded 
 quietly with harvesting as usual, conscious, I daresay, that 
 the alarm was unfounded and of tlieir own innocence. 
 Having proceeded to Tulbagli we found no inquiry 
 necessary, for it was evident that perfect tranquillity 
 prevailed. On our way to Worcester we communicated 
 to the most influential farmers the result of our inquiries 
 and found also that place in the same state. On 
 touching at Wellington, the justice of the peace and 
 field-cornet reported that there had been a good deal 
 of alarm, but that all was now quiet. We found the 
 field-cornet a very intelligent man, and he assured us 
 of his perfect confidence in the coloured classes within 
 his field-cornetcy, who had all to a man volunteered 
 their services in case of need. Both at the Paarl and 
 Stellenbosch further investigation was unnecessary on 
 our part, and we left these towns perfectly tranquil and 
 were assured of the absence of all local alarm. 
 
 From these proceedings, of which the above is but an 
 outline, we were unanimous in coming to the following 
 conclusions, namely : 
 
 1. That reports have been in circulation, and up to 
 our visit at each place were in circulation, 
 
 2 A
 
 354 
 
 calculated, if literally understood, to excite 
 very great and very general alarm. 
 
 2. That such reports are in no one particular founded 
 
 on fact, no simultaneous attack on the whites 
 ever having been meditated by the coloured 
 population at this end of the Colony, nor has 
 any settled or organized plan of conspiracy 
 in the slightest degree existed ; and 
 
 3. That we think it just possible that the random 
 
 expressions of some of the returned volun- 
 teers may have added to an excitement 
 already in motion, but we have no evidence 
 whatever to connect this business in the 
 remotest degree with the rebellion on the 
 frontier. 
 And with regard to the Squatters Bill, we found that 
 in the districts of Cape and Malmesbury, where a large 
 proportion of the coloured people are located and the 
 greatest number employed, none of them could be 
 affected by that bill ; and that in the districts of Tulbagh 
 and Worcester, where a number of coloured persons 
 are in occupation of waste lands belonging to Govern- 
 ment, particularly in Cold Bokkeveld, these parties 
 might be affected by the enactment of a Squatters Bill. 
 But no disaffection among these had appeared. 
 
 And though such a bill appears necessary, yet there 
 were many opinions, and we agreed with them, that the 
 passing of such a law at the present moment might be ! 
 viewed by the coloured class as an act of oppression, 
 and a triumph by another class over their feelings and 
 interests, and lead to a permanent estrangement of good 
 feeling between both employers and employed. 
 
 1
 
 355 
 
 We were, however, decidedly of opinion that measures 
 should be taken to prevent any addition to the numbers 
 of occupiers of waste lands, and eventually to their 
 complete ejectment, except in particular cases, which 
 should be dealt with according to their individual 
 merits. 
 
 After submitting certain points for consideration, we 
 closed the report by remarking that, in the then exist- 
 ing circumstances of the colony, nothing could be 
 more unfortunate or ill-timed than this state of things ; 
 and we were persuaded that the feelings of antagonism 
 which it had unfortunately revived were not likely to 
 pass away so rapidly as the panic under which the 
 farmers have been labouring. 
 
 In their case the coloured people had unhappily 
 discovered that the apprehensions which have been 
 awakened in their minds, of sentiments and feelings 
 opposed to them, were not generally like the hostile 
 feehngs which have been so unjustly imputed to 
 them. 
 
 The result of this inquiry, however, was, that the 
 alarm gradually subsided, leaving no inimical feeling 
 apparently between the parties, peace and tranquillity 
 was restored, and the Squatters Bill was dropped in 
 Council. 
 
 The commissioners had the satisfaction of receiving 
 the thanks of the Council, in a letter addressed to me, 
 of the following tenor, viz. : 
 
 " Council Office, December 22, 1851. 
 
 " Sir, — I have the honour to inform you that the 
 following resolution was proposed by the Attorney- 
 General and seconded by Mr. Godlonton, and carried 
 
 2 A 2
 
 356 
 
 unanimously in the Legislative Council on Friday last, 
 
 the 19th. Resolved : 
 
 " ' 1. That the thanks of the Council are severally due, 
 and are hereby given, to P. B. Borcherds, 
 Esq., do., do., to F. B. Pinney, Esq., and 
 do., do., to C. Piers, Esq., for their services 
 in conducting with so much care and marked 
 ability their laborious inquiry into the subject 
 of the alarming reports in circulation in the 
 Cape, Malmesbury, Worcester and Stellen- 
 bosch Divisions, regarding an alleged con- 
 spiracy amongst the coloured classes to attack 
 the vi^hite population. 
 " ' 2. That the Clerk of the Council do transmit to 
 each of the three gentlemen above mentioned, 
 a copy of the foregoing resolution.' 
 
 " I am, sir, &c., 
 
 " Charles T. Boyle, 
 
 " Clerk of Council. 
 " P. B. Borcherds, Esq." 
 
 On the 2nd of August, 1852, a circular was addressed, 
 by the Lieutenant-Governor C. H. Darling, Esq., to the 
 Civil Commissioners, containing instructions to take 
 steps, by the convening of a public meeting, by 
 communication through the field-cornets, and by any 
 other mode best calculated, to raise by subscriptions a 
 Kafir War Fund, intended to assist those Burgher 
 volunteers who went to the frontier in defence of the 
 Colony, and supplying them with means of equip- 
 ment and support in respect to their horses, arms, 
 and sustenance ; His Honour considering that the
 
 357 
 
 amount would be most opportune for encouraging and 
 "cheering on" the Eastern colonists in their exertions, 
 and for proving to the enemy without and the rebels 
 within, that as, in this matter at least, there was but one 
 heart and one will amongst the loyal subjects of Her 
 Majesty throughout the land, so that those who could not 
 render effective aid in person were determined to offer 
 its equivalent in property. 
 
 The intention was, that the fund which might be thus 
 created should be placed at the disposal of His Excel- 
 lency the Governor and Commander-in-Chief, to be by 
 him allotted in due proportions to the committees for 
 equipping and maintaining the Volunteers in the Eastern 
 Districts, or be appointed under his orders to that 
 object, in whatever way His Excellency might deem the 
 most effective. 
 
 I consequently called a public meeting to assemble in 
 the hall of the Supreme Court on the 13th following. 
 
 His Honour had previously explained, in another 
 circular, that he trusted that any diminution of the 
 fund which might be occasioned by the impression that 
 the steps which he had taken in this matter — (for afford- 
 ing the inhabitants of the Western Districts some 
 recognized channel through which their patriotism and 
 sympathy might be voluntarily evinced) — were entirely 
 upon his own responsibility and without previous com- 
 munication with the Governor, and were indirectly an 
 attempt to establish a precedent for raising forced loans, 
 benevolences, or contributions only " apparently " volun- 
 tary, would thus effectually be averted ; and His Honour 
 requested it to be urged upon the meeting that whatever 
 plan might be agreed upon for the disbursement of the
 
 358 
 
 fund, such plan may not involve any pecuniary 
 accountability on the part of the Governor and Com- 
 mander-in-Chief. 
 
 On the day when the meeting was called, the large 
 Court-room was completely filled by eleven o'clock ; 
 and having read the notice calling the meeting and the 
 circulars addressed to me by the Lieutenant-Governor 
 on the subject, I left the assembly to choose their own 
 chairman, and to proceed as they thought proper. By 
 an unanimous call I was immediately requested to take 
 the chair, which I did, and having remarked that doubly 
 fortified by the sanction of Government and the wishes 
 of the meeting, I accepted this duty, and would do the 
 best in my power to promote the object they all had in 
 view, I addressed the assembly thus : 
 
 " Gentlemen, — Having called your attention to these 
 documents (above mentioned), allow me to observe that the 
 more strictly we confine ourselves to the object of this 
 meeting (namely, to collect contributions for the equip- 
 ment and maintenance of those volunteers who have so 
 nobly come forward in the Eastern Division, or who 
 may hereafter join the standard of the Commander-in- 
 Chief), the nearer shall we, I conceive, comply with 
 the spirit of the circular of His Honour the Lieutenant- 
 Governor ; and the more general the contributions are 
 made (however small) the greater will be the proof on 
 the part of the colonists, that there is but one heart and 
 one will among Her Majesty's loyal subjects here, as 
 regards the defence of the colony against the common 
 enemy. On this point there should be union to strengthen 
 our cause, and the enemy should be taught that there is 
 no hope of gaining advantage by divisions on our part.
 
 359 
 
 Gentlemen, let then, I pray, the proceedings of this 
 meeting be governed by order and good feeling, and let 
 these contributions mark the sentiments by which you 
 are governed in the common cause. You have already 
 received the report of a meeting held for the purpose 
 at Swellendam, with the best effects. There we find 
 that a sum of £600 had been at once subscribed, and I 
 trust that the result of this day's proceedings will show 
 that we are no less sensible of our duty, or less ready 
 to perform it, than our fellow-colonists of Swellendam" 
 (cheers). 
 
 And having during the proceedings received a 
 letter of His Honour the Lieutenant-Governor trans- 
 mitting £25, as his subscription to the Volunteer 
 Assistance Fund, I read the contents, as also a letter of 
 the Dean of Cape Town (the Reverend W. A. Newman), 
 expressive of the reason of his non-attendance, and his 
 ready concurrence in whatever might evince hearty 
 loyalty to his Sovereign, and ready co-operation with his 
 Governor, and his warm interest in the peace and 
 prosperity of the colony ; and twenty-four gentlemen 
 were nominated, to whom I was added, to form a 
 committee for the general management of the Volunteer 
 Fund. 
 
 Sir Andries Stockenstrom being voted to the chair, 
 the thanks of the meeting were most cordially awarded 
 to me, for my kindness in presiding on the occasion ; 
 and subcriptions were immediately opened : and in the 
 afternoon it already amounted to £1,330, and the 
 committee found the greatest willingness amongst all 
 classes of the community to contribute each according 
 to his means. Although this aid was afterwards not
 
 360 
 
 deemed necessary, yet it proved the readiness of the 
 inhabitants to support Government in the defence of the 
 country. 
 
 Sir Andries Stockenstrom in his speech said, address- 
 ing; me as the chairman : 
 
 " The first question before us seems to me, whether 
 the awful state of affairs which now prevails on the 
 frontier shall be allowed to last ; and, secondly, what 
 steps the people of this colony can justly be called upon 
 to take, in order to put a stop to that state of affairs, or 
 rather in your own words ' to prove that there is but 
 one heart and one will amongst the loyal subjects of 
 Her Majesty here, as regards the defence of the Colony 
 against the common enemy/ 
 
 " Before entering upon these questions allow me to 
 diverge for a moment in order to congratulate the 
 country on the altered tone of feeling existing between 
 the rulers and subjects of South Africa, as exhibited by 
 the circulars which you have read, and by the respect- 
 able congregation which has already been drawn together 
 to respond to a liberal call of the people, to exercise 
 one of its most important political rights on the 
 granting of supplies to government. 
 
 " I feel this approachment of Government to the people 
 as one of the happiest events in the history of the 
 colony ; and certainly not the least agreeable feature of 
 the present scene is, the cordial unanimity with which 
 a high official of this community was called upon to 
 preside over a political meeting of the people. For in 
 spite of your introductory admonition, allow me to 
 observe that this cannot be otherwise considered than 
 as a political meeting, and the exclusion of politics is
 
 361 
 
 impossible. Your election here to-day confirms the 
 position which I have invariably maintained, that no 
 impassable gulf exists between the people and those 
 officials, high or low, as a body ; and to me it is parti- 
 cularly gratifying to see you in the first popular chair 
 of such a nature, when, grey as I am, I recollect that I 
 was still playing at marbles in the gutters of Cape 
 Town when you were already a high official ; and that 
 you have for half a century since then, with dignity 
 and honour, preserved the respect and esteem of your 
 country, both private and public, as an exemplary head 
 of a family, a staunch patron of morality and religion, 
 and a just preserver of law and order (loud cheers). 
 Your position does honour to our society as well as to 
 yourself; it shows that an honest man is in the long run 
 appreciated amongst us, whether in an official or un- 
 official garb" (cheers). 
 
 To come to the question, I could not help feeling on 
 the occasion the expressions so voluntarily offered by 
 the honourable Baronet, — they were uttered unexpec- 
 tedly ; and I deem them well worthy of being recorded 
 in this my memoir, as to me a valuable opinion. 
 
 On communicating the resolution of the committee 
 
 to the Lieutenant-Governor, I received the following 
 
 letter : 
 
 " Government House, 19th August, 1852. 
 
 " Sir, — I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt 
 of your letter of this date, enclosing a resolution of the 
 * Committee of the Kafir AYar Voluntary Contribution 
 Fund,' by which the funds collected through the com- 
 mittee was placed at the unreserved disposal of His 
 Excellency the Governor, i'or tlie equipment and
 
 362 
 
 maintenance of volunteers of the Eastern districts durint^ 
 the Kafir war, and acquainting me that the subscrip- 
 tions up to this date in Cape Town and its vicinity 
 amount to about £2,500; £1,600 of which has already 
 been collected by the committee. 
 
 " I shall have great satisfaction in communicating by 
 this day's post to His Excellency the Governor this 
 highly gratifying result of the public meeting held in 
 Cape Town on the 13th instant, gratifying, not more 
 for the substantial aid which it will afford to our fellow- 
 colonists in the field than for the proof which it exhibits 
 of the admirable spirit evoked by the occasion on the 
 part of the inhabitants of this city and its neighbourhood. 
 
 "In conveying to you these sentiments, I avail myself 
 of expressing my entire approval of the course you have 
 pursued in the execution of your instructions, and of 
 congratulating you on the marks of respect and confi- 
 dence so signally conferred by your unanimous election 
 to the chair of a meeting of your fellow-citizens ; the 
 highly respectable and influential character of which is 
 amply attested by the names of the gentlemen who 
 were nominated and consented to act as members of its 
 committee ; and of those whose attendance at the 
 meeting enabled them to lay the foundation of the fund 
 which that meeting with such marked unanimity resolved 
 upon establishing. 
 
 " I have, &c,, 
 
 " C. H. Darling, Lieutenant-Governor. 
 
 " To P. B. Borcherds, Esq., &c., &c.. 
 Chairman of the Committee of the Kafir 
 War Voluntary Contribution Fund."
 
 363 
 
 The circular which I received on the return of the 
 " Kafir War Contributions " is here inserted, namely : 
 "Colonial Office, Cape Town, Sept. 4, 1852. 
 
 " Sir, — Intelligence has been received by His Honour 
 the Lieutenant-Governor from the frontier of the return 
 from beyond the Kei of the expedition which marched into 
 Kreli's country on the 6th ultimo, and that his Excel- 
 lency the Commander-in-Chief had dispensed with the 
 further services of those gallant burghers who so readily 
 responded to His Excellency's call, as appears by the 
 following extract from the General Order of 21st August : 
 ' The Commander-in-Chief thanks Lieutenant-Colonel 
 Michel and Lieutenant -Colonel Napier, the troops, the 
 burghers, and levies, for their exertions in the accom- 
 plishing, in one foray of nine days, the object he had in 
 invading Kreli's country and punishing that chief; 
 which enables him now to permit the several contingents 
 of burghers and volunteers to return to their respective 
 homes, carrying with them not only his thimks for their 
 meritorious conduct, but also the satisfaction of having 
 as loyal subjects responded to his appeal.' 
 
 " As it thus appears that the object which His 
 Honour had in view (when by his circulars of the 2nd, 
 7th, and 18th of last month he invited the co-operation 
 of the inhabitants of the Western Province in aid of the 
 funds raised in the Eastern Districts for the equipment 
 of a burgher force) no longer exists, — such services not 
 being at present required, — His Honour has directed 
 me to instruct you to discontinue receiving further 
 subscriptions, and to adopt immediate means for return- 
 ing to the subscribers the amount of their subscriptions, 
 in a way the most convenient to themselves.
 
 364 
 
 " In doing this, His Honour directs me to request 
 
 that you will take the opportunity of expressing to the 
 
 subscribers individually His Honour's best thanks for 
 
 the readiness with which one and all came forward to 
 
 render that assistance which at the time was considered 
 
 likely to be of the utmost value, in aiding the Eastern 
 
 Districts to keep in the field a sufficient burgher 
 
 contingent. 
 
 " I have, &c., 
 
 " R. SOUTHEY." 
 
 In a subsequent meeting of the committee, the 
 treasurer (the Honourable Auditor-General, Major 
 Hope) presented a report of the sums collected and paid 
 to him, which was unanimously adopted, imd the treasurer 
 was authorized to refund the subscriptions received. 
 
 I have mentioned the above in detail also to show 
 how ready the inhabitants were to contribute with 
 Government to the defence of the Colony, and the very 
 good spirit of loyalty and unity evinced on the occasion. 
 
 In May, 1852, I was appointed chairman to act in 
 conjunction with Mr. F. B. Pinney, Resident Magis- 
 trate of Simon's Town, and Doctor H. Bickersteth, the 
 Surgeon-Superintendent of Somerset Hospital, as com- 
 missioners to inquire into certain charges made against 
 the Superintendent of the General Infirmary at Robben 
 Island. This island is about eight miles distant from 
 the port of Cape Town, of difficult access except in 
 perfectly calm weather, with a landing-place extremely 
 inconvenient at all times. The General Infirmary 
 Establishment occupies the whole space, and can be 
 visited only by permission. The establishment is 
 entirely under the direction and control of Government.
 
 365 
 
 A full inquiry into the charges was made, and the 
 result was, that the Superintendent was reprimanded ; 
 but the state of the Infirmary was found to require 
 improvement, and we suggested the following : 
 
 " The lunatic asylum is altogether defective in its 
 construction and arrangements. Having been formerly 
 a prison in which convicts under sentence of transpor- 
 tation were confined, it is at once obvious that without 
 considerable alteration — if not entire remodellino- — the 
 building would never be made subservient for the 
 satisfactory treatment of the insane, for in the present 
 state the requisite classification of the unfortunate 
 patients is quite impossible. 
 
 " The convalescents and those who are tranquil, are 
 indiscriminately mingled with the violent and incurable, 
 and exposed to their ceaseless noise by day and night, 
 often to personal injury and abuse. The cleanly and 
 orderly are congregated with those of obscene and filthy 
 habits ; and what is worse, the separation of the sexes is 
 only effected by a rude palisading dividing the yard in 
 which they rove during the day, sufficiently open to 
 admit of everything that passes in one compartment 
 being seen by the occupants of the other, and to render 
 their constant communication unavoidable. 
 
 •' The rooms and cells are sadly defective in their 
 ventilation, but appeared clean, and are in as good order 
 as circumstances would allow. The yard is paved with 
 stones, which is objectionable, as affording facility to 
 the mischievous and violent, to arm themselves at any 
 moment — whilst under the influence of sudden freak or 
 passion — with most dangerous missiles.
 
 366 
 
 " The attendance upon these poor creatures is decid- 
 edly inadequate. There are at present eighty-seven 
 lunatics in the asylum, fifty-two of whom are males, 
 thirty-three females, and two idiotic children. 
 
 " From the return of officers and servants employed 
 in the establishment, it will be seen that one man under 
 the designation of gatekeeper performs the duty of 
 superintending the males, his wife officiating as lunatic 
 matron, both being unassisted, except by the patients 
 themselves, such aid being always precarious, and, 
 except in some cases, far from desirable. 
 
 " The cells in the asylum seem to be occasionally used 
 as places of punishment for lepers, and other patients 
 suffering from chronic disease, whose habits may chance 
 to be dirty or offensive, or conduct refractory, — a pro- 
 ceeding which should be most certainly avoided, as 
 likely to give an erroneous impression regarding the 
 real purpose of the asylum, by making no distinction 
 between the punishment due to misdemeanour and 
 crime, and the requisite restraint which for their own 
 safety and that of others it is necessary to impose upon 
 those who are unhappily, through the visitation of 
 Providence, bereft of their reason. 
 
 " Two buildings, respectively designated upper and 
 lower hospitals, are appropriated for the reception of 
 patients suffering under chronic disease. One of these 
 buildings was formerly the residence of the commandant, 
 the other the quarters of the officer commanding the 
 detachment of troops which formed the convict guard. 
 
 " Although neither of these houses possess the requi- 
 site qualifications for a hospital, they are nevertheless 
 
 I
 
 367 
 
 sufficiently comfortable for the accommodation of the 
 class of patients they contain, and certainly present 
 none of the formidable objections regarding their 
 arrangement which, with reference to that occupied by 
 the lunatics must irresistably force themselves upon the 
 conviction of the most superficial observer. In these 
 two buildings there are at present one hundred and 
 fifteen patients, ninety-eight males and seventeen females. 
 
 " From the nature of the establishment it appears 
 that for the attendance upon the sick in these hospitals 
 two male overseers are appointed ; but of these one 
 only performs the duty of supervision, the other being 
 employed as a mechanic in repairing buildings, boats, 
 and other matters of that kind. 
 
 " No person is especially appointed for attending 
 upon the sick females in these hospitals, and the regu- 
 lations do not contain any definition of the overseer's 
 duty or instruction for his guidance. The consequence 
 has been, and still is, that the sick in that department 
 are most uncertainly provided with attendance, and 
 have mainly to depend upon the irregular and ofttimes 
 unwilling assistance offered by the other patients. 
 
 " The lower hospital is unprovided with suitable 
 privies, the only substitute for these being two or three 
 tubs placed under a wall about twenty or thirty yards 
 from the hospital, without any provision for their con- 
 cealment, or covering to shelter those who may have to 
 visit them from exposure to the inclemency of the 
 weather. 
 
 " The kitchen is too small and requires enlarging, 
 upwards of two hundred rations being now cooked, and 
 served out in a very confined space.
 
 368 
 
 " There is no suitable apartment adapted for the 
 reception of the bodies of those who die, either in the 
 hospital or lunatic asylum. The consequence is, that 
 either the interments take place with indecent haste, or 
 the corpse remains for hours in the ward amongst the 
 living. 
 
 " The lepers appear tolerably comfortable, and no 
 particular remarks seem to be called for respecting 
 this branch of the institution. They are a peculiar 
 class of people, wedded to their own habits, and it is 
 perhaps better to let them continue to enjoy themselves 
 in their own way, rather than impose regulations which 
 might irritate and annoy them. 
 
 " It might, however, be desirable that the duties of 
 the overseer of lepers were confined entirely to the 
 charge of this department, and not associated as at 
 present with those of managing the surf-boat and landing 
 stores, which must of necessity interfere with the proper 
 and effective performance of that duty for which he is 
 especially appointed. 
 
 " The regulations do not instruct the Surgeon-Super- 
 intendent to keep any diary or medical registry 
 detailing important cases, nor is there any order enfor- 
 cing the institution of post mortem examinations in all 
 instances where death has occurred from acute disease, 
 in consequence of violence, and under questionable 
 circumstances." 
 
 Thus were three hundred human beings situated, poor, 
 sick, and deprived of reason, and when on their deathbed, 
 cut off by an intervening sea from relatives, friends, 
 sympathizing strangers, or acquaintances ; surrounded 
 with scenes of woe, living together in their misery on
 
 369 
 
 this isolated receptacle of sorrow, defectively lodged 
 and served. The sight of these unfortunates made so 
 deep an impression on my mind, that I could not refrain 
 from mentioning it in these my memoirs ; and even 
 whilst writing, • some of the subjects are distinctly 
 within my recollection. 
 
 Since our report, several defects were remedied and 
 improvements made, as far as the locality would admit ; 
 but I had a sanguine hope that means would have been 
 devised and measures adopted to have established a new 
 infirmary on the main land near Cape Town, and the 
 one at Robben Island abandoned, so that the sufferers 
 might have been more easily accessible, and relieved by 
 medical aid and compassion, and better lodged. 
 
 In my opinion, the asylums for lunatics and lepers 
 should be quite distinct and apart from the hospital. 
 
 The subject, however, I am happy to say, has since 
 attracted the attention of Parliament and been discussed. 
 Humanity certainly claims notice. 
 
 Our mission closed with the receipt of the following- 
 Government letter : 
 
 "Colonial Office, June 30, 1852. 
 
 " Sir, — I am directed by the Lieutenant-Governor 
 to acknowledge the receipt of the report, dated 5th 
 May, of the commission appointed to inquire into 
 certain charges brought against Dr. Birtwhistle, the 
 Surgeon-Superintendent of the General Infirmary at 
 Robben Island, of which commission you acted as 
 chairman. 
 
 " His Honour has desired me to convey to you, 
 and throus:h you to Dr. Bickersteth and Mr. F. B. 
 
 2 B
 
 370 
 
 Pinney, the other members of the commission, his 
 thanks for the pains you have bestowed upon this inves- 
 tigation, and for the very able report which has been 
 furnished. 
 
 " I have, &c., 
 
 " R. SOUTHEY. 
 " P. B. BORCHERDS, Esq., 
 
 Chairman of Commission of Inquiry." 

 
 371 
 
 SECTION XV. 
 
 One of the most important extra duties with which I 
 have been charged was that of Chairman to the Central 
 Road Board, in the room of the Honourable H. Rivers. 
 My appointment was dated April 19, 1853. Dr. Innes, 
 the Superintendent-General of Education, was appointed 
 as an official, and Messrs. D. G. van Breda and E. 
 Landsberg as unofficial members, to whom afterwards 
 was added Mr. F. W. Rietz, of Swellendam. 
 
 I was now appointed to the chair once occupied by 
 that distinguished public servant, our Colonial Secretary, 
 the late Honourable John Montagu, of whom the Rev. 
 W. A. Newman, Dean of Cape Town, noted in his 
 biographical memoirs : "To open a communication 
 with all parts of the colony was one of Mr. Montagu's 
 first designs, and with unsurpassed talent and energy he 
 brought the resources of his mind and enterprise to this 
 work, and in a very few years was instrumental in 
 setting on foot and hastening the accomplishment ; 
 ' undertakings ' which, to use the commendation of Sir 
 H. Smith, ' would do honour to a great nation,' so that 
 in the last few years, the physical difficulties against the 
 improvement of the Cape colony have been removed ; 
 mountain passes have been rent open ; hard roads made 
 through deserts and driving sands ; rivers bridged over 
 and made passable, even in the heights of winter torrents, 
 and a regular post line of communication carried through 
 from Cape Town to Graham's Town, the capitals of the 
 Western and Eastern divisions, distant by an interval 
 of more than six hundred miles, over which the mail 
 is now carried thrice in the week, with regular dispatch, 
 
 2 B 2
 
 372 
 
 completing its whole distance in a space of about 
 seventy hours. 
 
 " For the execution of his projects of opening the 
 mountain passes and carrying the roads through the 
 country, Mr. Montagu happily devised, and subsequently 
 successfully introduced, a new and most advantageous 
 system of convict labour ; a system which, in its useful- 
 ness and reformatory effects, has already worked and 
 will be yet more instrumental in working, the most 
 important physical and moral changes over the face and 
 in the heart of the whole colony." 
 
 I confess feeling diffident and doubtful, whether I 
 could do justice to the office, under performance of 
 attendant duties, when the oifer was made by the then 
 Acting Secretary to Government, the Honourable Wm. 
 Hope ; but on consulting with my friends (especially 
 the Honourable \ym. Porter), my scruples were relieved, 
 and I accepted, because the ground-work was so well 
 laid, and the machinery in active motion modelled, and 
 I had the assistance of an experienced and able secretary, 
 Mr. Wm. de Smidt, and also the advice and professional 
 aid of the Civil Engineer, coupled with the opinion of 
 members well acquainted with the country and con- 
 nected with the inhabitants of the interior, and an 
 efficient and well-trained staff of officers ; and thus 
 supported, I cherished the hope that I might be instru- 
 mental (by following the steps of my predecessor) in 
 adding to the welfare of my native country, by con- 
 tributing to the grand object, — the improvement of 
 roads in this colony. I knew the nature of many of 
 these roads by my travelling formerly as Judge of the 
 Circuit through the interior, and had some experience
 
 373 
 
 (as Civil Commissioner and Chairman of the Divisional 
 Road Board, and also as former Secretary of Stellen- 
 bosch) of the system of road -making. 
 
 And on April 22, 1853, the new members severally 
 took the oath and their seats, and I addressed the 
 board thus : 
 
 " Gentlemen, — It has pleased his Excellency the 
 Governor to appoint me a member and chairman of 
 our board, under proclamation of 19th inst. I have 
 accepted the appointment with no other view than the 
 promotion of the public good. I have always considered 
 the improvement of roads as the greatest benefit that 
 could be effected, to facilitate agriculture and traffic, and 
 as such closely connected with the welfare of the colony. 
 I hope and trust, gentlemen, that in attempting to attain 
 that beneficial object to our fellow-colonists you will 
 grant me your cordial co-operation and support. Any 
 plan or suggestion made to that effect will meet my 
 most serious consideration, and in submitting to this 
 board I trust that its merits will be discussed freely, 
 openly, and candidly, and with that courtesy which we 
 owe to our station, and the trust and confidence reposed 
 in us by Government and the public. This meeting 
 I have convened chiefly to take our seats, to have the 
 minutes read of the board's last proceedings, and to dis- 
 pose of such matters as require immediate provision ; and, 
 as we hope to meet again on Friday next, at 1 1 o'clock, 
 I will in the mean time, with the assistance of the 
 secretary, endeavour to gain that information which will 
 place the board in a position to commence with the 
 current duties steadily and with regularity. The pro- 
 minent point of inquiry will be as to the means at
 
 374 
 
 command and in prospect, in order to regulate our 
 expenditure, with the view, not only gradually to dis- 
 charge oui' debts and liabilities, but at the same time to 
 proceed with the works in hand for public benefit. I 
 trust, gentlemen, that by thus acting and candidly 
 opening our views (when convened in this board, in 
 unity and with honest purpose), we shall in time gain 
 the confidence of the community ; and that whatever 
 be the board's ultimate destination or fate, we shall 
 either hold or quit our seats with the satisfaction of 
 having done our duty to the best of our ability and 
 skill. We start, accordingly, under the arrival of that 
 constitution which promises liberal institutions ; let our 
 proceedings be marked with liberality, and conducted 
 in that spirit which the public in general, and our rate- 
 payers especially, have a right to expect, keeping in view 
 the due exercise of economy, and I feel confident that 
 we shall not be disappointed in support. With these 
 remarks, gentlemen, I open the proceedings of this first 
 meeting of the newly-constituted board, relying on your 
 ready assistance and good will. I have fixed Friday in 
 every week as the ordinary day of meeting of the 
 board, at 11 o'clock, when I solicit your regular 
 attendance." 
 
 It was then moved by Captain Piikington (the Civil 
 Engineer) : " That the address be recorded, and that 
 the views expressed therein be approved by the board." 
 This was heartily responded to by every member, and 
 it was recorded accordingly. 
 
 And the board then proceeded with the current 
 business, and numerous communications from the 
 countrv districts were read and discussed. The whole
 
 375 
 
 of the proceedings lasted about four hours, being con 
 ducted in the most amicable and satisfactory manner. 
 
 Thus commenced my duties as chairman, and con- 
 tinued to February, 1857 (three years and ten months), 
 when I retired and preferred to continue as an unofficial 
 member. 
 
 The most interesting events in that position were, to 
 me, the opening of the Bain's Kloof or Pass, Wellington 
 Bridge, over the Berg, and Darling Bridge, over the 
 Breede Rivers, in September, 1853. 
 
 I will here insert the account published by an eye- 
 witness, which I consider correct : 
 
 This event, so long looked forward to with a degree 
 of more than ordinary interest, has at length taken place, 
 and Bain's Kloof one of the finest mountain passes to 
 be met with perhaps in the world, is now thrown open 
 to the public. The conflicting opinions, entertained 
 while the works were in progress, of their utility (forming 
 as they often did a matter of discussion in official circles 
 as well as out of doors, together with the magnitude of 
 the undertaking), claim for the ceremonies connected 
 with the opening something more than a mere passing 
 notice. 
 
 The day had for some time back been regarded by 
 the inhabitants of the surrounding districts, as well as 
 by many in Cape Town, as one of pleasure and merry 
 making, and it received an additional interest from the 
 promised countenance of His Honour the Lieutenant- 
 Governor, who had announced his intention of opening 
 the pass in person. Unhappily, however, his sudden 
 indisposition, after all the arrangements were complete,
 
 376 
 
 rendered that impossible, and the honour of doing so 
 was confided to 
 
 P. B. BoRCHERDS, Esq., 
 the respected chairman of the Central Road Board, than 
 whom, perhaps, a more fitting substitute could hardly 
 have been found. 
 
 On Monday, the 12th of September, Mr. Borcherds, 
 accompanied by Captain Pilkington, Messrs. D. G. van 
 Breda and E. Landsberg, present members of the board? 
 Messrs. J. B. Ebden and J. M. Wentzel, two of the 
 retired members, Mr. Wm. de Smidt, the secretary, and 
 several ladies, left Cape .Town for the Paarl. At the 
 entrance of that beautiful village a triumphal arch had 
 been erected, and several arrangements, including an 
 illumination, made in anticipation of the Lieutenant- 
 Governor's arrival, but which the rumour of his inability 
 to be there put a stop to. However, a number of 
 gentlemen on horseback and others in vehicles rode out 
 to meet them, and shortly after five o'clock the party 
 drove up, amid a salute fired from some small cannon 
 placed in the adjoining square, to Gird's Hotel, where 
 they alighted. 
 
 It was now only that the Lieutenant-Governor's 
 absence was positively ascertained, and a feeling of 
 general disappointment was expressed by the numbers 
 who had gathered around the hotel. Mr. Borcherds 
 addressed a few words to them, explaining the cause of 
 His Honour's absence, the regret it caused him as well 
 as themselves, and an assurance of the gratification he 
 knew His Honour would have felt at witnessing the 
 reception that awaited him. Shortly afterwards Doctor
 
 377 
 
 Zeederberg, the chairman of the municipality, at the 
 head of a deputation, waited on Mr. Borcherds and 
 handed to him an address which the inhabitants had 
 prepared to present to the Lieutenant-Governor, and 
 which at their request he promised should be forwarded 
 to him. 
 
 In the evening the board invited the civil commis- 
 sioner and several other officials to dinner. The next 
 morning being the day on which the bridge over the 
 Berg River was to be opened, found the Paarl all in 
 motion. At an early hour, vehicles of every descrip- 
 tion, from the serviceable and more generally used 
 Cape wagon and its span of six or eight horses, to the 
 light buggy and its thoroughbred, were seen driving 
 along the new line of road, which the Lieutenant- 
 Governor on his last visit there ordered to be made as 
 a branch road from the Paarl to Wellington, which is 
 not only considerably shortened, and avoids the undu- 
 lations of the old one over the hill, but also accommo- 
 dates those from Zwartland coming to the Paarl. 
 
 In less than an hour, a turn of the road brought the 
 bridge full in view ; and here the scene to a stranger's 
 eye was exceedingly novel and interesting. At some 
 distance ahead it was seen stretching its immense 
 length across the several branches of the Berg River, 
 forming with the roads from Zwartland and Wellington 
 (by which it was joined on either side) a long straight 
 line, and meeting the one from the Paarl at right 
 angles. These were crowded with vehicles all hurrying 
 to the same point of attraction ; the contrast of the 
 pure white tents, of the long string of wagons and 
 carts, as well as of those which were already outspanned
 
 378 
 
 on the banks of the river, with the dark green of the 
 surrounding fields was most picturesque ; and it was 
 pleasing to see the numerous, well-dressed, and orderly 
 groups of coloured people coming from various directions 
 on foot to join in the festivities of a day, the pleasures 
 of which were to be shared by all alike, without any 
 invidious distinction of class or colour. As the board 
 was not expected until noon, ample time was afforded 
 to those present to cross over and inspect the bridge, 
 which crowds were not slow to avail themselves of. 
 The first approach to it is by a causeway one thousand 
 feet in length, at the end of which a handsome 
 triumphal arch was erected, consisting of a centre and 
 two smaller ones. Over the first was the following 
 poetical effusion, 
 
 "The mighty Berg River we've conquered at last, 
 So the days of frail ^;m«/'s and detentions are past." 
 
 and on one or two side ones the words "Agriculture" and 
 " Commerce " appeared through the flowers and ever- 
 greens of which the arch was formed, the whole being 
 surmounted with flags. Then commenced the bridge, a 
 wooden pile, one of great strength, about three hundred 
 feet long, at the end of which was an arch of 
 evergreens and flags bearing the inscription " Concordia 
 cresceinus." Passing on was another causeway of three 
 hundred feet long and twenty-eight feet broad, over a 
 strip of land which in the dry season divides the river 
 into two streams, but is in winter completely under 
 water. Where it terminates was a very pretty arch 
 erected with the inscription ''God save the Queen," with 
 two guidons of the Lieutenant-Governor suspended over
 
 379 
 
 the sides ; and over head two banners bearing the 
 Montagu and Mitchell arms, passing through the 
 bridge where the second stream commences. It is of a 
 similar construction to the first, but smaller, being only- 
 two hundred feet in length ; the stream here, however, 
 being more rapid, it is even of greater strength, the piles 
 used being driven no less than twenty-four feet deep 
 into the river. At the end of it was the principal 
 triumphal arch. No trouble had evidently been spared 
 in making it worthy the occasion, while to the evergreens 
 and flowers were added branches of the orange tree 
 covered with its luscious fruit. Over the central arch 
 passing eastward was inscribed the motto, Possunt 
 qui posse viderunt ; the other side was emblazoned with 
 the Governor's coat of arms, and the whole surmounted 
 by flags and banners, together with the guidons of the 
 Governor and Lieutenant-Governor. Over the two smaller 
 arches were inscribed the mottos : " Peace and plenty " 
 and "Liberty and progress." The tout ensemble was 
 so tasteful and complete as to elicit general admiration. 
 On the one side a kind of pavilion was erected with a 
 board in front, on which the letters " V.R." were prettily- 
 worked with the flowers of the red heath, with a large 
 crown above, and the English, French, and Dutch 
 ensigns suspended from the middle and sides. Opposite 
 was a flagstaff with the royal standard. The scene at 
 this time, looking back through the arches along the 
 line of the bridge, was beautiful beyond description. 
 No less than four hundred wagons and carts were out- 
 spanned on the banks of the river, which ran sluggishly 
 on, as if the heat of the day (for there was not a breath 
 of air stirring) had communicated its influence to it,
 
 380 
 
 while the moving masses of the people are not over 
 estimated at four thousand. 
 
 The approach of the board was now announced ; and 
 Mr. Bain, accompanied by several ladies and gentle- 
 men, crossed over the bridge, which was cleared to 
 receive them. Mr. Borcherds and his party having 
 alighted, he was conducted by Mr. Bain across the 
 bridge to the pavilion, around which the convicts 
 belonging to the Berg River station were drawn up in 
 the form of a square. A strict silence being observed, 
 Mr. Borcherds addressed the spectators as follows : 
 
 "Ladies and Gentlemen, — I have been requested 
 by His Honour the Lieutenant-Governor (who intended 
 to be present as the representative of Her Majesty's 
 Government) to express to you his deep regret that 
 serious indisposition prevents him from joining you in 
 opening this bridge for public use. His Honour 
 considers it a work of great importance, as facilitating 
 the transport of produce to the chief markets, not only 
 from Wellington but the more distant parts. He con- 
 gratulates the inhabitants on the completion of such an 
 undertaking, and trusts that it will be productive of 
 much public good, not only to the present but future 
 generations. He had hoped to have expressed 
 personally his thanks to the former and present members 
 of the Central Road Board, under whose arrangement 
 and direction this bridge was commenced and com- 
 pleted, but requested me to do so in his name, and on 
 behalf of Government; and also to Mr. Bain, the 
 inspector, under whose design, and by whose ability 
 the work has originated and been finished ; also to the 
 superintendent, Mr. Short, for his able and judicious
 
 381 
 
 assistance ; and to the superintendent of works, Mr. 
 Manning, under whose guidance the work has been 
 thus far carried on and completed. And as chairman 
 of the Central Board, I beg to add the thanks of the 
 board for the zeal and assiduity displayed by those 
 officers in their respective situations. In that official 
 capacity I also feel it my duty (and it is one which I 
 perform with delight) to draw the attention of the 
 public to the solicitude of Government to promote 
 works of public utility, and to meet the true interests of 
 the inhabitants ; and I have no doubt they will 
 reciprocally and cheerfully supply the further means 
 required, and co-operate with the Central and Divisional 
 Road Boards to do their duty, confident that the 
 approaching Parliament will liberally respond to every 
 claim connected with that so all-important work to 
 agriculture and trade, — namely, the improvement of 
 roads in this colony. The Central Board now returns 
 thanks to all who aided and contributed to the erection 
 of this bridge, which was commenced in December last, 
 and I am authorized to declare that it is now open to 
 the public, and is named the 
 
 "'WELLINGTON BRIDGE.'" 
 
 '^I'he conclusion of the address was greeted by loud 
 cheers, which were taken up by those who, from the 
 number present, were unable to hear a word that was 
 said. For the information of those persons who did 
 not understand English, Mr. Borcherds said that he 
 would translate what he had just said into Dutch, 
 which he then did, to the gratification of the principal 
 part of his hearers. This being over, he proceeded to
 
 382 
 
 address the convicts, whose clean and orderly appear- 
 ance reflected great credit on their superintendent. He 
 told them that although there would be no mitigation 
 of sentences this day, as was usual on such occasions, 
 he desired to assure them that they had not been 
 forgotten. The names of the most deserving had been 
 sent in to the Lieutenant-Governor, who, believing that 
 he had not the power, did not feel himself justified in 
 granting such mitigation, but had forwarded them to the 
 Governor, whose answer had not been received but 
 was expected by the next post, when the result would 
 be communicated to them. He was anxious that they 
 should understand that they had not been forgotten. 
 This having been translated to them in Dutch, and by 
 one of the convicts into the Kafir language, they 
 returned to the station. The celebrated Andries 
 Botha, who was amongst them, excited a good deal of 
 attention ; he appeared in good health and spirits, and 
 bears an excellent character from the overseers. 
 
 The ceremony of christening the bridge took place 
 next. Mrs. Borcherds, who performed it, having been 
 conducted there, took the bottle of wine, and breaking 
 it against the raihng named it the " Wellington Bridge," 
 amid loud cheers that broke from all sides. Three 
 hearty ones having been given for the Queen, the work 
 of the day was concluded. By a strange coincidence 
 it happened to be the anniversary of that on which the 
 great warrior of the age breathed his last. A long line 
 of vehicles now crossed the bridge for the first time, 
 headed by the omnibuses engaged by the board, gaily 
 decked out with guidons, into which Mr. Borcherds and 
 his party having entered, they drove off to Wellington,
 
 383 
 
 accompanied by a goodly cavalcade. The greater 
 number, however, broke up into picnic parties along 
 the banks of the river; thus closing the enjoyments of a 
 day that will long be remembered by those who had 
 the good fortune to witness it. Nothing occurred to 
 mar the proceedings. The weather was most propitious, 
 and in addition to those whose pleasure was derived 
 from the contemplation of the great works which give 
 rise to the scenes of this kind, were many who came 
 there determined to be pleased, not knowing why or 
 caring wherefore. 
 
 Wellington being but a quarter of an hour's distance, 
 the cortbge were soon driving down Bain-street, 
 drawing up before Mr. Bain's residence to give three 
 cheers, and then proceeding to the end of the street, 
 where a substantial bridge .has been erected over a 
 rather rapid stream, being on the high road to the kloof. 
 
 A pretty arch had been thrown across it, on which 
 the word " Welcome " was inscribed. Mr. Borcherds 
 then, after a few complimentary remarks, named it 
 " Bain s Bridge," and the party proceeded to the house 
 of Mr. Blignault, which he had given up for the use of 
 the Lieutenant-Governor. When they alighted, a tiffin 
 followed, and in the evening the board invited the 
 officials of the Paarl and Wellington and several other 
 gentlemen to a sumptuous dinner, which took place in 
 the Government school-room. It was prepared by Mr. 
 W. T. Gregan, and the arrangements were excellent ; 
 loyal toasts and complimentary speeches being the order 
 of the evening. The pretty town of Wellington — for 
 that is what it has now become — was a scene of festivity 
 and rejoicing the whole of that afternoon and evening.
 
 384 
 
 There were a great many gentlemen from Cape Town, 
 and amongst them several candidates for the new Par- 
 liament. Some of them, either personally or through 
 their friends, were evidently combining a little business 
 with pleasure, and seeing what could be done in the 
 electioneering way, — with what success remains to be 
 seen. A large dinner party also sat down at the next 
 hotel of Miss Langeveldt, which, at the request of those 
 present, was christened " Darling Hotel." The worthy 
 hostess — who is quite a character in her way — returned 
 her thanks in an excellent speech for the honour they 
 had conferred on her. A ball in the evening closed the 
 enjoyments of the day. 
 
 Early next morning every one was on the move, and 
 at eight o'clock the board, accompanied by a numerous 
 train of vehicles, started for the great event of the day, 
 the opening of the kloof. The beautiful Wagonmaker s 
 Valley, with its groves of orange trees in full bearing, 
 was soon passed, and the road swept round the spurs of 
 the mountains with an ascent so gradual as to be almost 
 imperceptible. It is only on looking back that the 
 traveller can actually see the height to which he has 
 ascended. Passing the much-talked-of tunnel, — now 
 unserviceable from the western entrance having fallen 
 in — the greater sweep round one of the mountain slopes 
 which the tunnel was intended to avoid has to be made, 
 and the road though still planted on one side with 
 thriving young oaks, takes shorter turns, the sweeps 
 become precipitate, and it altogether assumes more the 
 character of the mountain into which it shortly enters. 
 The point is now attained from whence the road is 
 clearly discernible from the plains below, stretching in
 
 385 
 
 a straight line across the fall of the last mountain but 
 one of the Drakenstein range, until where, turning off 
 at an obtuse angle, it enters the gap and is lost to view. 
 The scenery along this part of the road, until it reaches 
 the gap where the first convict station is placed, is per- 
 haps more magnificent than any in the kloof itself. 
 Here you may rattle on at a pace not slower than that 
 of ordinary travelling, along a road quite as good, if 
 not much better and apparently as level, as any Cape 
 Town street, and this at an elevation of upwards of 
 eighteen hundred feet above the level of the sea. 
 Down immediately before you is the Wagonmaker's 
 Valley and its fertile farms. Further on is Wellington, 
 whose regularly-built streets make no inconsiderable 
 show in the plain beneath, through which the Berg 
 River winds, until it is lost behind the Groenberg, a 
 remarkable mountain, whose green, velvet appearance and 
 numerous slopes, imbroken by a single rock, present a 
 striking contrast to its rugged neighbours. The long 
 straggling but picturesque village of the Paarl, with 
 its range of hills, is seen to the left ; and more to 
 the right those of Paardenberg, while between the 
 Groenberg and the last of the Drakenstein range is a 
 beautiful valley ; and beyond it in the distance the 
 smooth waters of Vogel Valley are partly visible. The 
 bird's eye view from this height is perhaps unequalled 
 here ; and no description, especially the present feeble 
 attempt, can do it justice. Turning to the right, the 
 gap is now entered, and the road passes through the 
 first convict station, which has been abandoned. The 
 buildings are to be sold, and it is said that they are 
 likelv to be purchased for a house of accommodation. 
 
 2 c
 
 386 
 
 The descent here is now as gradual as the ascent was 
 on the other side ; with this difference, that the world is 
 completely shut out, and you travel along a road cut 
 out of one side of two rugged mountains, with a narrow 
 and deep ravine between. On looking at the opposite 
 side, it must strike a spectator with wonder that it 
 could ever have entered the mind of man to cut a 
 carriage-drive out of the side of a mountain whose 
 prevailing features were huge rocks, fearful precipices, 
 and deep ravines. With little change, except when the 
 ear is suddenly saluted by the soft dashing of one of 
 the small but numerous cascades, which seen for a 
 moment are lost beneath the road, it reaches a remark- 
 able group, called 
 
 " THE MONTAGU ROCKS," 
 
 where it passes through a cutting made in the solid rock 
 twenty-five yards long, and twenty feet deep, over 
 which a pretty arch was thrown, surmounted by the 
 Montagu arms and the motto : " Palmam qui meruit 
 feratr Here, in some places, the retaining walls are 
 between forty and fifty feet high ; and along the whole 
 length of road the parapet is formed by immense pieces 
 of detached rocks, placed on their ends and the interstices 
 filled up with smaller stones. Somewhat further on is 
 a curious natural arch, through the rock on an 
 overhanging precipice, outside the rock called 
 
 "the bishop's arch," 
 from some little circumstance connected with the 
 Bishop of Cape Town's visit there when on his last 
 visitation tour. The arch was covered with flowers 
 and surmounted by a huge mitre. Still gradually
 
 387 
 
 descending", you come to a very deep cutting through 
 the krantz (the local name for a precipice). It is of a 
 similar character to the one through the Montagu Rock, 
 but much deeper and jutting more into and over the 
 precipice. This is called 
 
 " THE BELL ROCK," 
 
 after the Surveyor-General. Over it a tasteful arch was 
 thrown, made of heath, with the motto: '■'■ Patientia 
 vinces" and suspended from it hung a bell ornamented 
 with flowers. 
 
 Immediately after this is a remarkable place called 
 " bayley's krantz," 
 one of the highest precipices in the kloof, the rock 
 rising abruptly two hundred feet above the road. 
 After passing the krantz, a salute was fired from the 
 opposite side of the ravine, by blasting a number of 
 rocks, giving an increased wildness to the scenery. 
 Next came a bridge over a very deep chasm, the mason- 
 work of dry stone being no less than sixty-five feet 
 high, to which the name of 
 
 " PILKINOTON BRIDGE " 
 
 was given. Crossing it, the road ran through another 
 deep cutting in the solid rock, over which was an arch 
 with the motto: "Be firm in difficulties." A turn of the 
 road brought the corthge up to the middle convict 
 station, where the commissioners alighted, and after 
 remaining a short time inspecting the station, pro- 
 ceeded on. Some distance beyond, there is an 
 extraordinary overhanging rock between this and the 
 head station, which stretches right across the road, and 
 is just high enough to allow those on the top of the 
 
 2 c 2
 
 388 ! 
 
 omnibus to pass. It bears a strong resemblance to the 
 sounding board of a pulpit, and is named 
 
 " DACRES PULPIT," 
 
 after the reverend gentleman of that name, who was 
 with one of the first parties who explored the kloof. 
 A few minutes more and they had arrived at Wolven- 
 kloof, the main Breede River station, under the 
 superintendence of Mr. Thomas Bain, where the board 
 alighted and remained some time. 
 
 This is one of the most interesting parts of the pass. 
 The station is large, and stretching beyond it is a fine 
 kloof, into which cattle from the outspanning wagons 
 might be turned. The buildings having been inspected, 
 Mr. Borcherds addressed the convicts to a similar effect 
 as those of Berg River, " regretting that the Governor's 
 reply about the mitigation of some of their sentences 
 had not been received in time, but that they might rest 
 assured that they were not forgotten," which was trans- 
 lated to them in both Dutch and Kafir. The men did 
 not appear at all satisfied with this announcement. 
 
 The whole party then proceeded to christen a hand- 
 some bridge, the most elegant structure of the kind in 
 the whole pass, crossing a deep chasm, the water 
 running down which joined those in the larger ravines 
 below. At the end of this was a triumphal arch, in the 
 shape of a castle with its gateway and two towers, on 
 each of which was the red cross gleaming through 
 the evergreens. A crown surmounted the arch, and 
 beneath it was the motto : " Fauna semper viret" beauti- 
 fully painted in relief; the whole arch being decorated 
 with banners and guidons, &c.
 
 389 
 
 Miss Bain, by whom the ceremony was to be per- 
 formed, then advanced, and in a firm tone of voice said, 
 " The inscription on the arch above tells us that a 
 good name will shine for ever, and we cannot there- 
 fore do better, in giving the bridge one, than in naming 
 it after the worthy chairman of the Central Road Board, 
 
 'borcherds' bridge.'" 
 
 Miss Bain, as she repeated the name, gracefully broke 
 the bottle of wine against the bridge, and was loudly 
 cheered. 
 
 Mr. Borcherds, in acknowledging the honour that 
 had been paid to him, assured those present that 
 whatever he had done, had been from a strict sense of 
 duty, which he was glad to find had been appreciated, 
 and that he should always endeavour to continue to do 
 so. Whatever might be in his power to promote 
 the improvement of the roads, and thereby tend to 
 increase the agricultural and commercial prosperity of 
 the colony, he should consider it a sacred duty to 
 perform, and begged of them to believe that the 
 pleasure this day had given him he seldom experienced. 
 
 The scene at this time was strikingly grand and 
 exciting. The eye at one glance could take in the 
 buildings beyond the bridge, the winding road far 
 above it studded with vehicles, and below it the fearful 
 chasm dividing the two ridges (and along which the 
 waters of the Witte River were dashing with all the 
 fury of a mountain torrent), together with the motley 
 groups of all classes and shades, who had gathered 
 to witness the ceremony. To add to the wildness 
 of the scene, a salute was fired from three of the
 
 390 
 
 adjoining villages, by blasting the rocks. The detached 
 pieces fell, crumbled below ; the reports reverberating 
 long and loud. The cavalcade was once more in 
 motion, and the easy descent continued. The long 
 valley from which the pass emerges was in full view, 
 with the high range of the Mosterd Hoek mountains, 
 their tops still partially covered with snow, stretching 
 across the plain far beyond it. Continuing along the 
 base of the mountain, every few moments laid open 
 some beautiful kloof, with its cascade, which flowing 
 into the valley, added to the body of water adjoining the 
 Breeds River at Darling Bridge, now visible. The 
 scene that here presented itself was something similar to 
 the one at Berg River on the previous day, though 
 not quite on so large a scale. Along the banks 
 numerous carts were outspanned, while a long 
 concourse of people had gathered round the bridge to 
 receive the party. The last convict station was now 
 passed, a salute was fired, the Bain's Kloof terminated, 
 and a mountain pass of eighteen miles was traversed 
 (ten of which were blasted through solid rock), with all 
 the ease and facility attending a drive to Constantia. 
 The board then alighted, and were received by the 
 Civil Commissioner of Worcester and Tulbagh, who 
 conducted them across the bridge, over which two 
 arches were erected with appropriate mottoes, and they 
 all proceeded to a large marquee, rendered conspicu- 
 ous among other tents by a shield of the Governor's 
 arms, and within which a cold collation had been 
 prepared by order of the board. After the good things, 
 — which were supplied by Mr. Gregan, of Wellington — 
 luid been fully discussed, and the one side of the
 
 391 
 
 marquee let down to enable the number of farmers 
 who had gathered around (and who appeared to take a 
 great interest in the events of the day) to hear all that 
 took place, Mr. Borcherds rose and said, 
 
 " Ladies and Gentlemen, — We have now arrived 
 at the terminus of the pass, and it is my pleasing task, as 
 chairman of the Central Board, to thank you for the 
 interest you have shown in thus countenancing the pro- 
 ceedings of the board. Your presence is a convincing 
 proof that you estimate the value of public works con- 
 nected with the improvement of roads, and the internal 
 intercourse with the different and some very distant parts 
 of the colony. Agriculture and Commerce are deeply 
 interested ; and by promoting the object, we couple this, 
 and unite that, which to every one feeling for the welfare 
 of this country of our birth or. adoption seems to be all 
 important. We have no navigable rivers, — mountains and 
 rocks separated us in former days, and in the opening 
 of this Pass we have been taught that intrepidity 
 and perseverance will surmount great and startling 
 difficulties (loud cheers). Let us look upon those who 
 planned and fostered this stupendous work as true bene- 
 factors, and keep them in memory, so as to hand down 
 to posterity the value of their example in this undertak- 
 ing. This pass, gentlemen (the length of which from 
 Wellington to Darling Bridge is eighteen and a half 
 miles, of which ten are blasted through the solid rock, 
 with a retaining wall of the same length from three to 
 fifty feet high), was commenced on the 16th February, 
 1849, when the Central Board consisted of the 
 Honourable John Montagu, Secretary to Government, 
 chairman ; the Honourable Harry Rivers, Treasurer-
 
 392 
 
 General; Charles Bell, Esq., Surveyor-General; J. C. 
 Gie, M. son, E. J. Jerram, and J. M. Wentzel, Esqrs., 
 commissioners; and Willem de Smidt, Esq., secretary. 
 You have passed it, and seen the great labour and work 
 bestowed thereon ; and if ever I had a happy day and a 
 satisfactory work to perform, it was on the opening of it 
 to the public (cheers). Need I repeat the regret we must 
 experience in common that the representative of Her Ma- 
 jesty's Government has been prevented by serious illness 
 from attending and personally doing the duties which 
 he has deputed me to perform ? It is to be hoped that 
 his health may be soon restored, so that by a personal 
 visit he may view the extensive work in its finished state. 
 He considers this pass as of the utmost consequence to 
 those connected with the interior, and to travellers; and 
 as a lasting monument of the skill bestowed on the 
 formation and finishing of this grand undertaking 
 (cheers). Were he present, I feel convinced that he 
 would join the Central Board in expressing his gratifi- 
 cation and acknowledgment to the inspector, Mr. 
 Andrew Geddes Bain (loud cheers), and the superin- 
 tendents, overseers, and others, for their useful services 
 rendered to the community at large ; and particularly 
 also to the superintendent, Mr. Thomas Bain, of the 
 Breede River station, for his skill, zeal, and activity. 
 We also feel that thanks are due to the chaplains, 
 the Reverend Messrs. Fleischer and Meeser (cheers), 
 who have performed with christian zeal the arduous and 
 responsible duties attached to the religious instruction 
 and administration of holy comfort to those who were 
 under the sentence of the law and intrusted to their care; 
 and the attention they have paid to the improvement of
 
 393 
 
 their minds and spiritual welfare, and their moral im- 
 provement, so as to return them to society, if possible, 
 useful, orderly, honest, and religious members (cheers). 
 I truly hepe and trust that their labours may be 
 crowned with success, and that they may hereafter 
 experience the satisfaction due to those who have been, 
 under the guidance of Providence, instrumental in 
 reforming and saving the souls of our erring and mis- 
 guided fellow-creatures, and turning their ways, so that 
 they may ultimately live happy here and happy here- 
 after. I should fall short were I not to thank those pro- 
 fessional gentlemen who from time to time have been 
 charged with the preservation of the health of those 
 who were attached or confined to the different convict 
 stations (cheers), — who have soothed and relieved pain 
 and suffering ; and inasmuch as they have faithfully 
 performed their duty, fully, and with professional skill, 
 I trust that they will enjoy that inward reward which 
 always attends those who have been a succour and help 
 to the afflicted. To the gentlemen who, as visiting- 
 magistrates, have administered the law, and contributed 
 to the order and regular conduct of those confined to 
 the public works, the Government, the board, and the 
 public are also deeply indebted. The responsibility 
 attached to their situation is one which cannot be 
 regarded but as a serious task, imposed and under- 
 taken for upholding the law and wholesome discipline 
 at the different penal establishments (cheers). And 
 now, gentlemen, I feel it my duty to state that 
 the labours of the members of the present Central 
 Board only commenced in April last. It would seem 
 presumptuous and uncomely were we to claim any merit
 
 394 
 
 beyond acting in the last stage of finishing this Pass. 
 No; the difficulties of starting and gradually proceeding 
 in this great work, with all its attendant cares and 
 responsibilities, were borne by our predecessors in office, 
 the former chairman and members of the board, and I 
 am happy to see some of them amongst us. They deserve 
 our acknowledgments, and we ought to pay them this 
 tribute of our thanks, and I do so most cordially (cheers). 
 It would be more than time would allow to describe 
 the various lines with which this Pass stands in connec- 
 tion with the interior of this colony. The public are 
 already informed on this subject by former reports, and 
 latterly by one framed by the present board after an 
 inspection as far the Karoo Poort. Sufl&ce it to say 
 that the general utility and public convenience are now 
 established, and will more and more be proved as the 
 Pass stands open for pubhc use. Let me assure the 
 community in general that the board is disposed and 
 determined to do their duty (loud cheers). They hope 
 and trust to the co-operation of all parties ; they feel 
 confident that the Parliament when once established 
 will not withhold their vote to means absolutely necessary 
 for the prosperity of the colony at large, and its indus- 
 trious and well-disposed inhabitants (continued cheers). 
 Allow me to close with one remark, that however 
 disposed the board feels to meet every just demand and 
 expectation in the different sections of the settlement, 
 they can only proceed with the works in succession. 
 The rules of discipline require establishments which 
 cannot well be separated or divided without destroying 
 the main object of punishment, — ^namely, the reformation 
 of the man. But let the inhabitants be assured that the
 
 395 
 
 interests of all will be in turn considered and attended 
 to, as much as means and power will allow. 
 
 " And ladies and gentlemen (amongst whom I observe 
 road boards, municipalities, functionaries, respectable 
 inhabitants, and individuals of various classes), receive 
 once more my hearty congratulations, and please to 
 share with me in the delight and satisfaction I feel in 
 opening this Pass, which I am authorized, in honour of 
 our worthy inspector and visiting magistrate, Mr. 
 Andrew Geddes Bain (loud cheers), with whom the plan 
 originated and who conducted the works throughout, 
 to name it 
 
 'the bain's pass.'" 
 
 The announcement of the name was received by a burst 
 of enthusiastic cheers, which were reiterated by the 
 crowds round the tent, so that it was some minutes 
 before silence could be restored, and Mr. Borcherds 
 continued : 
 
 " The Pass terminates at this bridge, bearing the name 
 of His Honour the Lieutenant-Governor, 
 
 (loud cheers). The following is a list of bridges and 
 other remarkable spots in Bain's Pass : Southey's 
 Bridge, Hope's Bridge, Landsberg's Bridge, Innes' 
 Bridge, Reitz's Viaduct, Montagu's Rocks, Rivers' 
 Krantz, Maclear's Bridge, Bishop's Arch, Bell Rock, 
 Bayley's Krantz, Breda's Bridge, Pilkington's Bridge, 
 Short's Bridge, Gie's Bridge, Samson's Ribs, Stewart 
 Rocks, Borcherds Bridge, Steenbok's Kloof, Bastiaan's 
 Kloof, and Darling Bridge. These follow in succes- 
 sion from the commencement at Wagonmakers' A^alley.
 
 396 
 
 Mr. Bain will now, I believe, favour us with some 
 history of the origin and progress of the pass." 
 
 The worthy chairman then sat dow^n amid loud cheers, 
 which continued as Mr. Bain rose. When they had 
 subsided, Mr. Bain said : 
 
 "In the year 1846, the Secretary to Government, 
 the Honourable Mr. Montagu, paid me a visit while 
 I was engaged in making Mitchel's Pass, and while 
 there, requested me to accompany Mr. Bell and 
 himself to Houwhoek. I did so, and in passing the 
 farm of Mr. Albert Winn, I pointed out to Mr. Montagu 
 a gap in the mountains lying in the direction of Wel- 
 lington ; he drew up his horse and looking backwards 
 and forwards, turned to me and said, ' Bain, that is just 
 the line ;' and at his request, I promised to take an early 
 opportunity of exploring the place. The field-cornet, 
 my friend, Mr. du Plessis, who has just now entered the 
 tent, was with us at the time, and he promised to procure 
 a Hottentot who knew some part of that country to 
 accompany me through the kloof; but all the informa- 
 tion I gathered about it, both then and afterwards (for I 
 made several inquiries of various parties), was, that with 
 the exception of going into some parts of the kloof in 
 looking after runaway slaves, no one had ever been 
 through it, for, said they, it was ' zoomaar een spelonk, 
 geen mensch kan daar door,' — 'for it is but a cave inac- 
 cessible, no human being can pass it ' (loud cheers). 
 We rode on to Houwhoek, whence they returned to 
 Cape Town, and I came round by Sir Lowry's Pass to 
 the Paarl. While there, I saw from Mr. Gird's stoep 
 the mountains at Mosterd's Hoek under which I resided, 
 and I then resolved that I would return home through 
 
 A
 
 397 
 
 that gap, instead of going round by the New Kloof. On 
 reaching WeUington, Field-cornet Rossouw kindly pro- 
 cured some persons who had been some distance through 
 the gap to accompany me. The names of these gentle- 
 men are Messrs. Stephanus du Toit, Jacobus and David 
 Malan (Jacobus' sons), and Johannes Retief. We started 
 from Wagonmakers' Valley at four o'clock in the morning, 
 having previously sent round our horses by Bastiaan's 
 Kloof to meet us at Breede River on the other side. It 
 took us the entire day, but we succeeded in accomplish- 
 ing our object (loud cheers). It was the hardest day's 
 work I ever had (cheers), and I could not do it again. 
 I had, however, determined to go through, and I did it 
 (cheers). The following day I wrote to Mr. Montagu, 
 accompanying the letter with a rough sketch of the 
 kloof, and said I had discovered the north-west passage 
 (loud cheers and laughter), and that I could make a 
 road through it, but it would be very expensive. I 
 received a very flattering letter in reply, dated 25th 
 November, 1846, in which he says, ' Your letter quite 
 delighted me; Bain's Poort will be our next job; so get 
 Mosterd's Hoek out of hand as soon as you please, and 
 we may get to work on the other. Bell is as pleased 
 as I am, and it is quite refreshing to work with a man 
 of your zeal and energy in the public service. You 
 have certainly not been idle since we separated' (loud 
 cheering). Do not think it vanity on my part in pro- 
 ducing this note (no, no), but I look upon it as a little 
 historical record, connected with the first discovery of 
 Bain's Kloof, that might be preserved (cheers). Shortly 
 after this, Mr. Bell was sent out to visit it in his official 
 capacity as Acting Civil Engineer. I proceeded with
 
 398 
 
 him, and we were accompanied by the Reverend Mr. 
 Dacres and Mr. Josias Rivers. We went from where 
 we now are, slept at night in the Bastiaan's Kloof, and 
 the following morning we started, and succeeded in 
 getting through the kloof, reaching Wellington the 
 same evening. Mr. Bell said that though it would 
 be a very expensive line of road, yet there would be no 
 doubt it would be a very useful one, and he reported 
 to the Central Board accordingly. This is all I have to 
 tell about the early history of the pass. You have seen 
 it to-day, and can judge for yourselves." 
 
 Mr. Bain's account was listened to with the greatest 
 attention, and at its conclusion he was loudly cheered. 
 
 This historical account was followed up by the 
 professional opinion of the Civil Engineer, Captain 
 Pilkington. 
 
 " I, sir (addressing the chairman), have been forty 
 years in the practice of my profession, and am confident 
 in saying that to trace a line through such a difficult, 
 precipitous country could only be made in the manner 
 Mr. Bain has just described, by one well practised in 
 tracing roads (cheers). It is not frequently in the 
 profession that men are found who have an eye that can 
 at once discover what an instrument can only effect. 
 Mr. Bain, however, has done so, and has shown that he 
 has a theodolyte eye (laughter). In this work he was 
 well supported by Mr. Montagu, and the colony is 
 indebted to these gentlemen for the discovery and forma- 
 tion of a road which brings a fertile and flourishing 
 country thirty -six miles nearer to Cape Town (cheers). 
 I have, as a professional man, visited the works from 
 time to time, but 1 never gave an opinion on their details
 
 399 
 
 whilst in progress, and my i-eason for this was, that I 
 might have made suggestions connected with those 
 details which might entirely alter the projector's ideas, 
 or which may already have been on his mind, and thus 
 deprive him of the credit of having been their original 
 author ; this is my conduct on all occasions (cheers). 
 But, sir, I have now viewed the work as finished, and 
 in reference to it as it now appears before us, I can 
 say that it has been completed in such a manner, that 
 it will not require any repairs for a considerable time to 
 come, whilst on every part thereof I see the mark of a 
 master's hand (loud cheers). I came here with a 
 determination not to speak, lest I should betray feelings 
 that might destroy the harmony that should prevail 
 on an occasion hke the present ; but, sir, I find it 
 impossible to refrain from speaking, when I see the 
 individuals to whom so much credit is due, must lose a 
 considerable portion thereof, if I withheld my profes- 
 sional knowledge on this subject (cheers). When the 
 procession had reached the bridge which has been 
 called by my name, I did not then say what I now 
 take occasion to communicate. Mr. Bain may recollect 
 the circumstances. I had projected a wooden bridge to 
 span the deep ravine by a single arch, but Mr. Mon- 
 tagu differed with me under the impression that such a 
 project would not be in keeping with the rude cliffs 
 and rugged appearance of the rocks around, and I 
 consider that, however excellent the project and com- 
 plete the construction of my proposal might have been, 
 Mr. Montagu was right (cheers); and I do there- 
 fore willingly give him all the credit (loud cheers), 
 disdaining portions as due to myself, for which the
 
 400 
 
 bridge should have been called by my name. Let him 
 that wins the fame bear the palm (loud cheers). I lay 
 aside all private feelings, when I see a great work such 
 as this a subject of discussion, and requiring my 
 opinion, which I give uninfluenced by any private or 
 personal feelings (cheers). Although I came here resolved 
 on silence, I hope I shall be excused for occupying 
 your time so long" (loud cheers). 
 
 The Honourable Mr. J. B. Ebden said: "As the 
 chairman has been pleased to allude to the acts of the 
 former members of the board in terms which could not 
 be otherwise than gratifying to them, he could not 
 refrain from offering his hearty congratulations on the 
 completion of that gigantic work, which he need hardly 
 say had excited the wonder and admiration of every 
 one who had that day beheld it (loud cheers), giving 
 all credit to its projector as well as to the talented 
 engineer whose name it bears, on whom devolved the 
 laborious and difficult task of excuting so important a 
 work." Mr. Ebden spoke here as an original member 
 of the Central Road Board. 
 
 Mr. Advocate Ebden spoke also in praise of the ; 
 works and Superintendent Bain in eulogizing terms, 
 and gave the health of Mr. Bain, " and let a grateful 
 public never forget what he had done for them," — which 
 was drunk with great applause. 
 
 Captain Pilkinoton proposed that a medal be pre- 
 sented to Mr. Bain, and he would wilhngly head the 
 subscription by giving £5 towards it, and this was 
 received with loud applause. 
 
 Mr. Bain, in returning thanks, said he would rather 
 make another Bain's Kloof than make a speech (cheers
 
 401 
 
 and laughter) ; he was nothing but a common highway- 
 man, and only accustomed to blazing and blasting 
 (renewed laughter), and could not therefore be expected 
 to speak. "All," he added, "I can say is, that I 
 thank you from my heart. God bless you all " (loud 
 cheers). 
 
 Mr. Borcherds then gave the health of the Queen, 
 and also to him most dear to her, Prince Albert, and the 
 Royal family, which were drank with three hearty 
 cheers, and one more. After which the health of His 
 Excellency the Governor, and may his efforts to 
 re-establish peace and tranquillity be crowned with 
 success. Then the health of His Honour the Lieuten- 
 ant-Governor, who, he assured them, had the welfare 
 of the colony at heart, and with a hope that he would 
 soon be restored to perfect, health ; both of which 
 toasts were drank with due honours. 
 
 Dr. Gird, an old colonist, comparing the former roads 
 and danger of passes with the present improvement, spoke 
 in high praise of Mr. Bain and his works, and value thereof 
 to the country ; and with regard to Mr. Montagu, he said, 
 " I am glad to observe the spirit in which the merits of 
 Mr. Montagu have been alluded to by the gentlemen 
 who have already addressed the meeting, particularly 
 the candid acknowledgments of Captain Pilkington, 
 which, circumstances considered, are doubly valuable 
 coming from that quarter ; but something more is 
 required of us. We must not forget, gentlemen, to 
 wliom we are indebted as the founder of this and other 
 great public works and roads throughout this colony. 
 But for Mr. Montagu, we might this day have been 
 ploughing our weary way knee deep in sand across 
 
 2 D
 
 402 
 
 the Cape Flats, without a hard road, or indeed any of 
 the fine roads we now possess. But for the energy and 
 perseverance of Mr. Montagu, we should not have 
 obtained a road ordinance. To the genius of that master- 
 mind are we indebted for the organization of the Cen- 
 tral Board of Public Roads in this Colony, and through 
 the able assistance of his colleagues — the commissioners 
 of the old board — has already so much been effected. 
 Without a Central Road Board, we should not have had 
 the pleasure of meeting this day to celebrate the opening 
 of Bain's Pass, With permission of the chairman and 
 gentlemen present, waiving every consideration but 
 gratitude to the great benefactor of the colony, to whom 
 we are so much indebted, 1 beg to propose " the health 
 of the Honourable John Montagu, the founder of public 
 roads in this colony." 
 
 The toast was received with great warmth and 
 cordiality amidst loud and continued cheering, which 
 was joined by the crowd outside the tent. 
 
 Mr. Ryneveld, the Civil Commissioner of Stellen- 
 bosch, then proposed the health of the chairman and 
 members of the Central Road Board, to which Mr. 
 Borcherds returned thanks. 
 
 The number of toasts being apparently exhausted 
 and the afternoon far advanced, the company now rose 
 and proceeded back to the bridge to witness the last 
 ceremony connected with this most interesting occasion, 
 the naming of Darling Bridge, to which the consent of 
 the Lieutenant-Governor had long previously been 
 obtained. Miss le Sueur, daughter of the Civil Com- 
 missioner, conducted by Mr. Borcherds, christened the 
 bridge with the usual forms.
 
 403 
 
 Tired out by the exciting events of the day, this did 
 not last long, for before one half had reached the spot, 
 a loud cheer announced that the only thing remaining 
 to complete the well-ordered arrangements had closed. 
 The board shortly after re-entered their omnibuses, and 
 drove off along the new line of road to Worcester. 
 The wagons on the road leading to other places were 
 soon in motion, and all was over. Thus terminated one 
 of the most interesting days the Cape has witnessed, a 
 day on which private interests had evidently been set 
 aside, each and all striving to do honour to the noblest 
 work of art in South Africa, and closed one of the 
 most remarkable in the history of the colony. 
 
 Another account added and closed thus : " With a 
 strong wind carrying out its streamers, the procession 
 entered Worcester towards evening, and at eight o'clock 
 the board, with the magistrate and others to whom invita- 
 tions had been issued, sat down to a princely dinner at 
 Watson's hotel, prolonged to a late hour ; other festi- 
 vities being carried on in the village, among which the 
 light fantastic toe was not forgotten. 
 
 " The high winds and torrents of rain which held 
 undisputed sway during the whole of the 15th, and 
 which were secretly anathematized as the plague of 
 waters, prevented any unusual manifestations of respect 
 on the part of the inhabitants, or the carrying out by 
 the board of any project of visiting the neighbouring 
 places of note; but a dinner given by the worthy 
 magistrate in the evening to the board, and a numerous 
 and select party, reflected in its arrangements great 
 credit on that gentleman. 
 
 •2 D 2
 
 404 
 
 '• The following morning the board, accompanied by 
 Mr. le Sueur and a few inhabitants (who were desirous 
 of bestowing this parting token of respect), left Wor- 
 cester ; and when its noble drostdy-house, churches, and 
 houses environed by sight-refreshing green had disap- 
 peared from the eye, the parties separated with many 
 a friendly shake and hearty cheer. No untoward inci- 
 dent served to relieve the monotony of the extensive flat 
 before mentioned ; as the excellent condition of the road 
 precluded any chance of accident even to the most 
 reckless excitement seeker. 
 
 " The first halt (if one for the rural task of culling 
 flowers be excepted) took place at the broad-bosomed 
 Breede River, which in its wide-spread expanse of 
 waters, swelled by the late rains, bore ample testimony 
 to the appropriateness of its name, and the unappreciable 
 value of the structure which enabled the traveller to 
 gaze over firm rails into the turbulent current below% 
 and exultingly to compare the feelings which the pros- 
 pect of crossing it after rains had formerly excited to 
 his present sense of security and ease. But it was cold 
 comfort drawing comparisons, in endeavouring to culti- 
 vate the sublime under so inauspicious a sky ; and 
 again submitting to a -crush (not a whit less delightful 
 than an opera one), the party proceeded to enter the 
 kloof, which, but for the mantle of fresher green the 
 fertihzing showers had lent it, would have presented 
 a gloomy appearance. Yet, spite of the frowning heavens 
 and lowering clouds, bedewing with silent drops, as 
 though heavily weeping over the mournful scene, there 
 was not one but whose bosom lord sat lightly on its
 
 405 
 
 throne, as the merry laugh and jest could testify; and 
 softer strains too floated up those verdant slopes, catching 
 doubtless in their fairy course the startled ear of many 
 a wild denizen of the tano;led krantzes. 
 
 " The party halted at the Wolvenkraal station to 
 partake of somewhat more substantial fare than music- 
 moody food ; bearing- ample testimony to the superiority 
 of mountain breezes to create an appetite, more than all 
 the Kitchener s Zests or Reading Sauces ever invented. 
 Amongst the merry toasts which followed, the health of 
 Mr. Thomas Bain must not be forgotten (accompanied 
 as it was with the well-merited eulogiums from every 
 gentleman present who had it in his power to contri- 
 bute his testimony to his sterling worth and professional 
 standing) ; nor yet that of the Misses Bain, who have 
 secured the admiration and warmest esteem of all who 
 have been privileged to enjoy their hospitality and 
 friendship. A passing tribute, too, must be paid to 
 the ready tact and humour of Captain Pilkington, who 
 (like Falstaff not only witty himself but the cause of wit 
 in others) drew forth, with a success which astonished 
 both him and them, the latent oratorical powers of some 
 embryo senators present, eliciting from the Rev. Mr. 
 Meeser and others, sentiments which visibly deepened 
 certain roseate tints. It was with evident regret that 
 this little reunion broke up, but the scene which opened 
 on the party as they penetrated further into the kloof 
 must soon have effaced every minor impression. The 
 misty mountain tops were enveloped in fleecy clouds 
 of driving rain, through which the declining sun now 
 and then threw a sickly beam, momentarily dwelling 
 on some flowerv shrub, loaded with dew drops, which 
 
 I
 
 406 
 
 glittered in the faint and rosy light like a shower of 
 priceless gems ; or giving to some distant shape of 
 moss the transient and deceptive glare of new fallen 
 snow, then waning and dying away like the ' blush 
 upon a maiden's cheek.' 
 
 '* In the deep valley below fretted and foamed the 
 White River, now swelled into a broad and rippling 
 torrent, bowing the heads of the tall shrubs and trees 
 like bulrushes, and carrying all obstacles before it, save 
 when the babbling current and broken foam indicated 
 some mighty mass of rock, which the strong hand of 
 the blaster had dislodged from its proud seat of 
 centuries, and sent on crushing ruin into its pebbly 
 bed. The Baboon River from an opposite kloof 
 descended like a cord of silver to meet the turbid waters, 
 throwing up at the junction a cloud of dewy spray, 
 over which in the uncertain sunlight faintly hovered a 
 delicately tinted arch, and from the precipitous kloofs 
 which flanked the roads, every stream (which seemed in 
 passing so insignificant, compared with the majestic 
 structure erected to withstand its fury) now came down 
 in tumbling cascades, leaping and foaming through the 
 rocks, and sending off innumerable gushing rills, 
 until the large body of waters were huri'ied with great 
 violence into the chasm below the bridge, almost 
 turning the unaccustomed brain of him who could 
 stand dry-shod upon it, and cast his eye to that headlong- 
 plunge, and watch it running its course in gurgling 
 music into the river beneath. Ever and anon, too, a 
 fitful blast of wind would come sweeping mournfully 
 down the valley, ruthlessly scattering the orient pearls, 
 which clustered on the slenderest twig, and leaving as
 
 407 
 
 it passed each rushing torrent a halo of waterdrops to 
 mark its course. It needed but a peal or two of 
 Heavens artillery among those echoing crags, and a 
 forked flash to lend its ghastly light to the dark depths 
 in the distance, to complete the grandeur of the scene. 
 With the sound of these magnificent cascades still 
 lingering in their ears — like a far-off strain of melody — 
 the party rounded the neck, and leaving the kloof, 
 closing a gloom behind them, commenced the descent 
 of the mountain in a deluge of rain that would have 
 quenched the enthusiasm of the most resolute naturalist 
 and landscape painter, but which failed to damp the fire of 
 wit kept up even by those exposed most to its merciless 
 peltings, and which ended not, until a hospitable mansion 
 received them. And now this ' tedious brief tale' is 
 drawing to an end. The following morning the faces 
 of the party were directed townwards, stopping only to 
 admire Berg River rushing (as if in impotent rage) 
 through the arches of Wellington Bridge ; and a second 
 time for the more agreeable purpose of refreshment. 
 At 7 p.m. they ended their eventful trip almost as 
 abruptly as this imperfect description of it." 
 
 My inspection did not confine itself to the tour 
 above mentioned during the first year of my chairman- 
 ship; for on the 11th May, 1853, previous, I proceeded 
 with the board from Capc^. Town to Wellington, through 
 Bain's and Mitchel's Passes by Ceres, and the Warm 
 Bokkeveld to the Karoo Poort and back country ; and 
 I gained much local information by this excursion, so 
 that we could safely recommend the construction of a 
 bridge at the station near Mitchel's Pass, where Breede 
 River is but just twenty feet broad, and where a junction
 
 408 
 
 of the branches can be easily effected, so as to complete 
 the line from Bain's Kloof to Mitchel's Pass. Also 
 another bridge at Ceres over the river there, so as to 
 secure that no obstruction by water can take place 
 between Cape Town and the Karoo. 
 
 Both these bridges were commenced and finished 
 whilst I held the chair. I opened the one at Ceres and 
 named it Breda's Bridge, in honour of our member, and 
 the other was opened by Captain Pilkington (I could 
 not attend, being charged with the police department 
 in Cape Town), and it was named Grey's Bridge after 
 our respected Governor. 
 
 On the 17th October, 1853, I made with the board 
 another important inspection of the line from Cape Town 
 to Malmesbury and ClauAvilliam by Piketberg, so as to 
 facilitate carriage from the back country, — such as the 
 vicinity of Clanwilliam, Ohfant's River, Sandveld, 
 Onder Olifants River, Haixleveld, Kamiesberg, Nama- 
 qualand, Voor en Achter Hantam, Onder Roggeveld, 
 Onder Bokkeveld, Biedouw, Cederbergen, Karoo, and 
 the whole of what is called the Trekvelden. The different 
 persons interested were heard, and plans examined, and 
 the board recommended the Pikenier s Kloof as a main 
 line. This pass was commenced and has since been 
 finished before the board's termination. 
 
 The advantages to the inhabitants of Clanwilliam and 
 adjacent country will be extensive, when to them by 
 the proposed lines will be opened not only the chief 
 market to Cape Town, but also those of Wellington, 
 Paarl, Malmesbury, and D'Urban. 
 
 And a bridge over the Berg River near Piketberg was 
 also planned, and the site inspected and recommended 
 
 i
 
 409 
 
 My memoranda on these subjects are published in 
 detail in the annual report of the Central Road Board 
 tor the year 1853, annexures D, No. 2 and 4. 
 
 My memorandum showing the position of the board 
 in 1855 was printed and presented to both Houses of 
 Parliament by conmiand of His Excellency the Gover- 
 nor in April, 1855. 
 
 It would far exceed the limits of this memoir were 
 I to detail the proceedings of the board whilst 1 had 
 the honour to be the chairman. Suffice it to say, that by 
 a letter from the Colonial Office of 15th June, 1858, to 
 the Commissioners of the late Central Road Board it was 
 stated: " As the Act passed in the last session (1858) of 
 Parliament to provide for the management of the public 
 roads of the colony enacts that after the passing of said 
 Act the Central Board of Commissioners of Public Roads 
 shall cease to exist, and that the Governor shall appoint 
 three commissioners for carrying on the duties of the 
 board until the last day of December next, I am 
 directed by His Excellency the Governor to notify to you, 
 that the board stands dissolved. His Excellency desires 
 me at the same time to record and convey to you the ex- 
 pression of his thanks for the important services which 
 the hoard has rendered to the colony hy the gratuitous 
 administration, during many years, oj one of the most 
 responsible and troublesome branches of the public service. 
 
 " It is unnecessary for His Excellency to enumerate 
 the many important works, which, in spite of difficulties 
 and not unfreqmntly of opposition and obloquy, the 
 board has executed. 
 
 " The bifiuence which the ope?'ations have had upon 
 the productions and prosperity of the colonj/ becomes
 
 1 
 
 410 
 
 daily 7nore obvious, and His Excellency feels that much 
 is due to the gentlemen ivho have given their time and 
 services ungrudgingly to the public as commissioners of 
 that boards 
 
 The secretary and officers were continued, and Capt. 
 Hill, Capt. Pilkington, and myself, were appointed by 
 proclamation to be the commissioners above mentioned. 
 
 This closed my connection with that important and 
 useful board with regard to the improvement of roads 
 in this colony. 
 
 On concluding my operations with the road commis- 
 sion, I took my leave on the 31st December, 1859. 
 
 (Extract from the Cape Argus of 1st January, 1859.) 
 
 "The road commission — consisting of Captain J. M. 
 Hill the Civil Commissioner, the acting Civil Engineer 
 Mr. M. Robinson (absent), and Mr. Borcherds — held 
 their last meeting yesterday morning, and disposed of a 
 variety of formal business. Mr. Borcherds at the con- 
 clusion of the meeting made the following remarks : 
 
 " ' As we are on the eve of being relieved, under the 
 Act of Parliament, of our duties as commissioners of the 
 public roads, I cannot allow this our last meeting to 
 pass without expressing to the chairman (my successor) 
 the pleasure I felt in co-operating with him and my 
 brother commissioners during the brief period of our 
 existence, and to forward that all-important work — the 
 improvement of the roads in this colony — in the last 
 stage of its original institution. 
 
 " ' I have witnessed the earnest desire to promote the 
 object in view by the Government, Parliament, and the 
 public, whenever opportunity offered, and have only to
 
 411 
 
 regret that the impracticabihty of performing personal 
 inspections prevented commissioners gaining that more 
 extensive information which they required, however 
 well furnished with representations, reports, and plans 
 by the officers in the board's employ. 
 
 " 'It will always be to me matter of gratification to 
 recollect the cordial co-operation of the members of the 
 board when I had the honour of holding the chair, and 
 their readiness to adopt that which appeared most 
 beneficial and desirable in furtherance of the great plan 
 to improve our roads and bridges. Much personal 
 sacrifice and anxiety have I witnessed under gratuitous 
 performance of a service subject to public remark and 
 censure, and, however well intended, not meeting the 
 expectations of all parties concerned. A mere glance 
 over the reports lately furnished by the divisional 
 councils and our own, on the various lines requiring 
 making, improving, and keeping in constant repair, will 
 convince that means and machinery were not adequate 
 to complete the works on so extensive a scale as the 
 extent of the country required. 
 
 '"When in retirement from the service in the com- 
 mencement of 1857, the Colonial Secretary had the 
 kind consideration of offering me to continue in the 
 chair, I requested that the present chairman might do 
 so, and accepted a membership of the board ; partly 
 because my health failed, and partly because my 
 domicile in the country would cause frequent absence 
 from town, whilst our chairman could daily attend 
 and have the opportunity of more readily forwarding 
 the current intermediate duties and airangements 
 required in conjunction with the society ; and I am
 
 412 
 
 satisfied by taking that course, for setting aside personal 
 desire, 1 have consulted the public interest. 
 
 " 'And now, Mr. Chairman, allow me to express my 
 thanks for the courtesy with which you conducted the 
 duties of the chair, and your patience and readiness to 
 listen to any suggestion offered to promote the object of 
 our charge. 
 
 "'And Mr. Secretary, with "whom I have now had 
 the pleasure of serving nearly six years, permit me to 
 tender you my acknowledgment of the valuable services 
 you rendered to me, both as chairman and member of 
 this road departmerit. Your experience, ready informa- 
 tion, and valuable reference (and I may add, particularly 
 fitted talent in the management of matters as the 
 board's minister), have often attracted my attention, 
 and been to myself and brother commissioners of great 
 service and guidance in the performance of our 
 respective duties. 
 
 "'With these observations I shall now close, Mr. 
 Chairman and Secretary, wishing you success in the 
 various duties you may still have to perform in the 
 public service of this colony ; hoping and trusting that 
 they may jointly and separately tend to promote the 
 public welfare of my fellow-colonists. Whilst thus 
 closing the fifty-eighth year of my employment as a public 
 servant, I will in retirement, if further spared, under 
 God's blessing, keep in pleasing recollection the good 
 fellowship experienced also in the last stage of public 
 hfe.' 
 
 " Capt. Hill rejoined that he had always experienced 
 the greatest pleasure in serving with Mr. Borcherds 
 there and at other places, and he felt much gratified at
 
 413 
 
 the complimentary manner in which Mr. Borcherds 
 had spoken of him ; and thougli he might have doubts 
 as to his own deserts, he was sure that the secretary- 
 deserved all that was said of him. Mr. de Smidt also 
 returned thanks to Mr. Borcherds, but waived all claims 
 to credit of service rendered, as he considered that the 
 board had been mainly indebted to the employes for 
 the efficient manner in which the services had been 
 conducted, more particularly the accountant. Both 
 Captain Hill and Mr. Borcherds coincided with Mr, de 
 Smidt in his allusion to the abilities of that gentleman, 
 and agreed that his services ought to be brought 
 specially to the notice of Government. Captain Hill 
 and Mr. Borcherds then rose, and formally took leave 
 of each other and the secretary in their capacity as 
 road commissioners."
 
 414 
 
 SECTION XVI. 
 
 In 1853, a case was brought before me as Resident. 
 Magistrate, namely : A shareholder in a joint-stock 
 company claimed to be registered as a voter on the 
 ground of his being a joint occupier of the building in 
 which the company carried on its business ; an objection 
 was lodged, parties were heard on the 8th, and I post- 
 poned, and gave my decision on the 1 1th of October ; and 
 in the leading article of the South African Commercial 
 Advertiser and Cape Town Mail I found the following 
 remark : 
 
 " In noticing the postponement of the decision in a 
 case which seems so clear, we cannot help observing 
 that of all men who ever did honour to the bench, none 
 have evinced more caution, more prudence, more con- 
 scientiousness, or a sounder judgment than Mr. Bor- 
 cherds. He was the first resident magistrate of Cape 
 Town, and however trivial the cases brought before 
 him might be in themselves, he seems to have con- 
 sidered that in every case he was elucidating a princi- 
 ple, settling a practice, and establishing a precedent. 
 It was objected to Lord Eldon that he was prone to 
 doubt. It was for some time objected to Mr. Bor- 
 cherds that postponement was his foible ; time has re- 
 lieved the character of both from any shade of blame 
 on this head, and shown that respect and confidence 
 both of the profession and of the public are most surely 
 gained by the judge who gives time to first impressions 
 to become solid, distinct, and immovable. Mr. Bor- 
 cherds has been now more than twenty-five years resi- 
 dent magistrate of Cape Town and civil commissioner
 
 415 
 
 of the Cape district, and in both capacities the same 
 reputation has quietly gathered around him by the 
 unanimous consent of the whole community. Good 
 temper which nothing can disturb, good sense — the 
 most precious of gifts, unquestioned and unquestion- 
 able uprightness, learning, and experience, have made 
 this gentleman an honour and a blessing to his country. 
 
 " Are there many such ? — we mean of native-born colo- 
 nists : time will show. Judge ofnothing before the time. 
 Colonial talent and colonial virtue are about to be called 
 into public action more extensively than in former days. 
 The few specimens which opportunity and chance have 
 afforded give the best auguries for what is to come." 
 
 I insert this with a view of stating that I feel the 
 author of this paragraph has far overrated my deserts, 
 both in the comparison with the eminent judge and the 
 good qualities ascribed to me '; and further, to explain 
 that my motive for postponing judgments rested upon 
 experience, which taught me that the " knock-off" 
 practice was dangerous in principle and effect, I 
 exercised occasionally the prerogative of a judge, to 
 deliberate and consider before finally disposing of a 
 case, with a view to promote the good and pure admin- 
 istration of justice, and to prevent my committing acts 
 injurious to those who had claims upon my prudence, 
 patience, and fair distribution of justice. I was sole 
 judge, and my responsibility personal, — and the many 
 cases of the poor required tender care. I never re- 
 gretted that practice, because I cannot trace any injury 
 thereby done to parties ; but I have cause to regret 
 that, in some instances, I judged from first impressions, 
 and on reflecting, found that if time had been taken for
 
 416 
 
 consideration, my judgments would have been more 
 correct. Perhaps this note may be of some service to 
 my inexperienced brother magistrates ; they will at the 
 close of their career not repent having copied my 
 example. I hope they will take the hint as well meant. 
 
 In May, 1854, that memorable event, namely, the 
 first election of members for the House of Assembly 
 for the electoral division of Cape Town, occurred, and 
 as magistrate I was, ex officio, the returning officer. 
 
 Within a few minutes of the doors being opened, 
 the laro;e hall of the Suoreme Court, where the meeting; 
 took place, was densely crowded in every part, and the 
 several candidates, as they made their appearance, were 
 received with cordial cheers by their various friends 
 and supporters. 
 
 Having opened the proceedings by reading the section 
 of the Order in Council alluding to the elections, and 
 the public notice which I had issued calling the meet- 
 ing, — at the close I declared the result of the poll, 
 and announced the names of the successful candidates, 
 namely, Hercules Crosse Jarvis, James Abercrombie, 
 M.D., Saul Solomon, and F. L. C. Biccard, M.D., 
 which was received with great cheering ; and having 
 stated that if any of the candidates wished to say any- 
 thing they would be heard, Mr. Jarvis (though indis- 
 posed) expressed his thanks. Dr. Abercrombie and 
 Mr. Saul Solomon addressed the meeting at great 
 length, opening their views and sentiments. Dr. 
 Biccard was absent, being indisposed ; and I closed 
 this interesting meeting with the following address : 
 
 " Gentlemen, — Previous to my closing the proceed- 
 ings of this day, allow me to congratulate you on being
 
 417 
 
 returned as duly elected members of the Assembly, by 
 the voters in this City of Cape Town, including Green 
 Point Municipality. 
 
 " Gentlemen, — I feel confident that you will appre- 
 ciate the trust reposed, and do your duty with zeal and 
 fidelity to the public cause ; with justice to all parties, 
 and satisfaction to your constituents, and with credit 
 and honour to yourselves ; and that you will take an 
 active part in all measures promoting pubhc good. 
 
 " I have observed, and am always happy to learn 
 from the polling ofiicers and information in general, 
 that though the election has been conducted with spirit, 
 yet that order and tranquillity, and no disturbance of 
 peace, have marked the proceedings (cheers). This 
 does great credit to our community, and the peaceful 
 inhabitants of this town, the capital of the colony. 
 Gentlemen, I feel a deep interest in the welfare of this 
 my native country, and trust that the constitution, so 
 liberally granted by our beloved Sovereign, will prove 
 a blessing to the community at large. The voters 
 have shown discretion and their fitness to elect, and 
 the elected will, I trust, respond warmly and truly 
 to the sacred call of their election (cheers). An unbroken 
 period of service of more than half a century (having 
 been the magistrate in this electoral division for up- 
 wards of forty years) has endeared the interest and 
 welfare of this town particularly to my heart ; and 
 will plead I hope in behalf of the feelings I entertain 
 for its inhabitants. This is the land which bore my 
 cradle, and will I hope embosom my remains, where 
 the parent dropped in rest and the offspring will wit- 
 ness the result of our present political change, and be 
 
 2 E
 
 418 
 
 able to judge whether the constitution carried with it 
 the blessing intended by our gracious Sovereign and 
 expected by its supporters, and whether our elected 
 have done their duty as true patriots and fellow-citizens 
 (loud cheers). Gentlemen, may the Almighty Ruler of 
 the Universe bless your measures, guide your delibera- 
 tions and resolutions, to increase prosperity and hap- 
 piness in the breadth and length of South Africa. 
 And in closing, let us once more thank our beloved 
 Queen and Her Majesty's advisers, by three cheers for 
 the Queen .'" 
 
 This call was instantly responded to as with one voice 
 by the whole assembly, followed by " Three cheers for 
 Lieutenant-Governor Darling," and cheers without I 
 number " For the representatives of the city, the mem- 
 bers of Cape Town." 
 
 And, says the reporter : " Thanks were awarded with 
 equal cordiality to the venerable chairman, for his able 
 and impartial conduct in the chair," and the meeting 
 separated. 
 
 I will now state the results by adding that His Excel- 
 lency the Governor Sir George Grey in closing the last 
 session on June 5, 1858, at which I was present, made 
 the following remarks in his speech to Parliament : 
 
 " I cannot permit this last session of the first Parlia- 
 ment of the Cape of Good Hope to close, without 
 expressing my thanks to the members for the zealous 
 and efficient exertions which they have throughout its 
 whole continuance made to advance the interest of this 
 country, for the sacrifices they have made for the public 
 good, for their remarkable freedom from faction and 
 party spirit, and for the support and aid which they
 
 419 
 
 have so often afforded me under circumstances of great 
 difficulty and perplexity. These will all leave an impres- 
 sion of gratitude and friendly feeling upon my mind, 
 which nothing can efface. And these sentiments are 
 heightened by the conviction I feel, that the wisdom and 
 moderation evinced by the Members of this Parliament 
 have conclusively shown, that the people of the colony 
 were in every way fitted to use well and wisely the 
 liberal constitution which Her Majesty in her gracious 
 care for the welfare and advancements of themselves 
 and their descendants was pleased to bestow upon 
 them. Thinking that, I cannot but confidently indulge 
 the belief that this, the first Parhament of the Cape of 
 Good Hope, will be admitted to have established lasting- 
 claims upon the gratitude of their country." 
 
 This declaration was so pleasing and satisfactory that 
 I could not help recording it in my memoirs as a 
 memorable event witnessed by me. 
 
 In order that my case may be perfectly understood, 
 and the grounds upon which Parliament granted me a 
 gratuity, I will here insert a memorandum of the Hon. 
 Mr. Justice E. B. Watermeyer, made at the time he was 
 practising as an advocate, and when 1 had placed my docu- 
 ments in his hands, with the view of drawing up my case 
 and obtaining his opinion, — this was in March, 1855. 
 
 Memorandum drawn by Mr. Advocate E. B. Water- 
 meyer, now a Puisne Judge of the Supreme 
 Court at the Cape of Good Hope, of Mr. P. B. 
 Borcherds' services. 
 
 " The public services of Mr. Borcherds have been 
 of a nature unparalleled in this colony ; from boyhood to 
 old age, in the discharge of functions the most varied ; 
 
 •2 E 2
 
 420 
 
 from his youth placed in positions of responsibility, he 
 has for the space of fifty-five years enjoyed the confi- 
 dence of the government which he faithfully served, 
 and the respect of the community for whose benefit he 
 assiduously labored. 
 
 " Testimonials ranging from the days of the Batavian 
 Government under General Janssens to the present date, 
 from the highest dignitaries of the land, with uniform 
 expressions of esteem and gratitude for services rendered, 
 speak his worth. 
 
 " The most respected among the Cape Governors, 
 (those most acquainted with the duties performed by 
 him from time to time), Lord Caledon, Sir Richard 
 Bourke, Sir Benjamin D'Urban, Sir George Napier, 
 Sir Harry Smith, have recorded their testimony of him 
 as one of the most valuable public officers whose 
 services the colony had been privileged to enjoy. Sir 
 Andries Stockenstrom, himself in the public service 
 from an early age, has been warm in his praise, and 
 brought his claims to the notice of the Legislative 
 Council. The Judges of the Supreme Court and the 
 highest legal functionaries, during upwards of half a 
 century, have borne honorable witness to the laborious- 
 ness of Mr. Borcherds' duties as the magistrate of the 
 most populous division of the colony, and have recorded 
 their opinions of the learning, efficiency, and honesty 
 of purpose, with which these laborious duties have 
 been discharged. 
 
 " In fine, it is admitted by every one in the govern- 
 ment service capable of forming a judgment, as it is 
 known to every one of the public observant of the 
 mode in which the obligations of office are discharged, 
 that Mr. Borcherds is, for length and value of service 
 
 1
 
 421 
 
 unequalled in the colony ; and for integrity, efficiency, 
 and ability, unsurpassed by any. And what have been 
 the advantages resulting to this gentleman ? What is 
 his pecuniary position in regard to the public after the 
 long series of years devoted to their service ? 
 
 "At the present moment Mr. Borcherds, though of 
 an age at which many would seek relaxation from work, 
 for which he would himself, according to the rules of 
 office, be entitled to a retiring allowance nearly equaUing 
 his salary, enjoys faculties matured by experience and 
 unimpaired by years, and unwilling to be a burden, 
 while he can yet give the advantage of his knowledge 
 and ability to his country, prefers labour to the idleness 
 which official regulations (but not the conscientious 
 regard for the public welfare which he has ever dis- 
 played) would permit him to enjoy. He is yet willing to 
 devote his energies to his official duties as Civil Com- 
 missioner and Magistrate of the Cape Division ; and in 
 the many unpaid offices to which the confidence of the 
 Colonial Government has appointed him. 
 
 " The case of a gentleman so devoted to his duties is 
 an exceptional one, and worthy of the highest consider- 
 ation. But when it is asked, what has been the reward 
 of this honourable career, of a life spent solely and with 
 invaluable benefit to the welfare of his country and its 
 government ? a sense of shame cannot but be felt at 
 the mere mention of such inadequately requited labours 
 and merits. 
 
 " Having lived entirely for the pubhc service with a 
 devotedness to duty rarely witnessed, his reward has 
 been unqualified approbation from all governments, a 
 character for probity and zeal in the discharge of his
 
 422 
 
 various offices (which sheds lustre on himself, and are 
 an honour to the country), — but in a pecuniary sense 
 considerable loss, serious disappointment, and severe 
 struggling in the honourable rearing and education of 
 a large family. 
 
 " When on the introduction of the Supreme Court 
 into this colony in 1827, and abolition of the Court of 
 Justice (then the highest tribunal in civil and criminal 
 matters), the members of this court were entitled to 
 retire on a pension of £200 each. Mr. Borcherds 
 already twenty-seven years in the service sought no rest, 
 but expressed his anxiety to render the efficient aid he 
 was so well qualified to give, in some other capacity to 
 the public, 
 
 " His value was well known, and the proffer gladly 
 accepted by Government. In consequence of this reso- 
 lution of Mr. BorcherdS; the annual sum of £200 for 
 twenty-eight years has been saved on the pension list, 
 and the colony has thus benefited to the extent of 
 £5,600, while services such as few could render as 
 efficiently have been secured. 
 
 "At this time, under the new judicial arrangements, it 
 was requisite to appoint men of the highest qualifications 
 to the more important magisterial posts. Mr. Borcherds 
 was selected for the office of Judge of Police, the duties 
 of which he had, in fact, while a Commissioner of the 
 Court of Justice, discharged under the old system. In 
 addition, he undertook the important functions of 
 Resident Magistrate for Cape Town and Cape division, 
 then including Wynberg, Simon's Bay, and Malmes- 
 bury,* at a salary of £800 per annum. 
 
 * And a maritime jurisdiction in the two principal ports of the colony.
 
 423 
 
 " Mr. Borcherds appointment of Judge of Police, to 
 which immediately the magisterial duties of the division 
 were superadded, was gazetted at the same time as the 
 appointment of the late Gierke Burton, Esq., as Master 
 of the Supreme Court, and the two appointments bore 
 the same salary. 
 
 " In 1834, additional important functions having in the 
 meantime been added to the office of Magistrate for the 
 Cape division, the Home Government resolved to 
 separate the office of Resident Magistrate from that of 
 Judge of Police ; Mr. Borcherds was in consequence 
 relieved of the duties of Judge of Police ; but another 
 most important office was confided to him, and he was 
 gazetted as Civil Commissioner of the Cape division. 
 
 " The labours of this office need not be recapitulated. 
 The head of the civil administration of the most 
 populous and important division of the colony performs 
 functions the mere detail of which would be inconsistent 
 with the brevity of this sketch, and which are under- 
 stood by all who have attended to the governmental 
 system of the colony. 
 
 " About this period the financial difficulties of the 
 colony were considered to be of a very serious nature. 
 In consequence of this a reduction of salaries took 
 place. And after thirty-four years of service, at the 
 very time when his resources were most severely taxed 
 for the education of his family (some of his sons being 
 engaged in preparations for professional pursuits), the 
 salary of Mr. Borcherds was reduced to £500,* — the 
 same salary which he had had in 1 826 while permanent 
 
 (*To this was afterwards added house-rent and temporary allow- 
 ance for a horse on service.)
 
 424 
 
 Commissioner of the Court of Justice. At this time 
 without any new duties added, the office of the Master 
 of the Supreme Court, gazetted on the same day 
 with the appointment of Mr. Borcherds in 1 828, was 
 retained at £800 per annum. The Superintendent of 
 Pohce, who reheved Mr. Borcherds of part only of his 
 duties, namely, those of the Judge of Police (for which, 
 however, those of the civil commissionership were 
 substituted), received £600 per annum besides allowances. 
 " However disappointed in his expectations, and 
 suffering serious loss and inconvenience from the 
 unforeseen reduction, Mr. Borcherds never wavered in 
 the energetic and upright discharge of his civil and 
 magisterial functions. At this very period of financial 
 difficulty (in 1834) he could have claimed retirement, 
 and was offered a pension of £462 per annum (nearly 
 the full salary he was in future to receive for arduous 
 work), but conscientiously declining to be a burden 
 when he could be of benefit, he refused to accept of 
 this. Thus, at manifest inconvenience and loss to 
 himself, he has saved the public by his continuance in 
 office to this date the additional sum of £9,000, at 
 least. 
 
 "A further saving has been effected of at least £1,500 
 by his continuing to discharge his duties after the time 
 at which he would have been entitled to the usual 
 superannuation allowance. 
 
 "Mr. Borcherds, whilst thus acting for the benefit of 
 the country, felt that to his family he also owed a duty, 
 and most respectfully brought to the notice of the 
 Home Government the position in which he was 
 placed. Sir Benjamin D'Urban and Sir George 
 
 I
 
 425 
 
 Napier, after the reduction which has been mentioned, 
 both strongly urged his case as one of great hardship, 
 and meriting the particular consideration of the Home 
 Government. Replies acknowledging the high claims 
 were received, and promises of attention as the financial 
 position of the colony would admit, were given. But 
 at the present moment in 1855, Mr. Borcherds has 
 only £500 per annum with his allowance for house-rent, 
 after fifty-five years of service of the highest character, 
 while the civil commissioner and resident mao;istrate of 
 Albany, where the civil and criminal business is but 
 one fourth of that of Cape Town, who has been in the 
 service for not more than two years, draws exactly the 
 same remuneration. 
 
 " The subject of Mr. Borcherds' claims and inadequate 
 recompense was brought to 'the notice of Parliament 
 during last session. Both in the Legislative Council 
 and the House of Assembly, the expression of respect, 
 esteem, and approbation of his services was unanimous. 
 
 " It was moved and unanimously carried in both 
 Houses that an address be presented to the Government, 
 conveying the high sense of both Houses of the 
 Legislature of Mr. Borcherds' valuable services, and 
 desiring that they should be favourably considered. It 
 was remarked that this was an unprecedented course 
 with regard to the services of an individual officer ; but 
 as was also remarked and acquiesced in by both the 
 Council and Assembly, the honour was peculiarly 
 appropriate to the services which had been rendered. 
 
 " In the meanwhile, the Lieutenant-Governor had 
 transmitted for the favourable consideration of the 
 Secretary for the Colonies a memorial of Mr. Borcherds,
 
 426 
 
 and the reply of the Secretary of State, dated 24th 
 October, 1854, states that the question of compensation 
 to Mr. Borcherds is peculiarly matter for the consider- 
 ation of the Colonial Parliament. Within some short 
 time, probably a few weeks from this date, the 
 acknowledgment of the expression of opinion of the 
 Colonial Parliament will have been received from 
 England, and it is believed that by this the Colonial 
 Government will be authorized by the Home Govern- 
 ment to place on the estimates such amount as a 
 gratuity as may be deemed adequate as an acknowledge- 
 ment of the long services of Mr. Borcherds, on a salary 
 far below the value of those services ; and further as 
 compensation for the disappointment incurred, and loss 
 sustained by him in his devotion to his public duties ; 
 and secondly, that an additional annual amount be added 
 to the salary now drawn by Mr. Borcherds, during 
 such period as he may still hold office. 
 
 " If the Government should not feel called upon to 
 take the initiative, after whatever answer may have 
 been received from England, an address embodying the 
 above views might with propriety be voted in both 
 Houses to the Governor, praying him to make such 
 provision. 
 
 " That the expression of opinion of the Houses of the 
 Legislature will be unanimous none can doubt." 
 
 Another powerful appeal on my behalf, was Sir 
 Andries Stockenstrom's previous speech and proceed- 
 ings, in the Legislative Council. 
 
 Sir Andries Stockenstrom (the honourable member of 
 Council) said : " I have more than once in this place 
 had occasion to allude to the respectable functionary
 
 427 
 
 about whom I must beg leave to occupy a brief portion 
 of the time of this House, and when, a couple of even- 
 ings since, I found how much my view of his services 
 was participated by other honourable members, I thought 
 that I had been guilty of some dereliction of duty in 
 not having sooner brought his case prominently forward, 
 considering that few if any public men now living can 
 have so long and so closely witnessed his official 
 career. I therefore lost no more time in consulting 
 some honourable friends in this as well as in another 
 place, and I am glad to say that I met with every 
 encouragement which such a cause could entitle me to 
 expect. It is nothing more than due to Mr. Borcherds 
 that I should premise that I am acting altogether on 
 my own responsibihty, without either his solicitation or 
 consent, and that only this morning I obtained from 
 him this book, containing a compilation of documents, 
 serving as a memoir of his public history, which I 
 knew to be in his possession, and which I must make 
 the text for my comments which I have to submit for 
 the consideration of the House. That I look upon the 
 subject of these comments as a friend I cannot deny, 
 and I am proud of the admission ; but there has not 
 been as much intercourse or intimacy between him and 
 me as there has been between many other officials and 
 myself, so that I may safely declare that I am actuated 
 altogether by a sense of public duty to the service, 
 which I wish to see intnisted to men of honour, inte- 
 grity, and ability, who can best be obtained for that 
 service by proving to the community, that such qualifi- 
 cations are appreciated, not only by the representatives 
 of that community, but by its gracious and just
 
 428 
 
 Sovereign, to whose special notice it is my anxious 
 hope that this very uncommon case will be brought. 
 For this object I trust that I may obtain the unanimous 
 co-operation of this House, such as it has already, to 
 my utmost satisfaction, met with in another place. The 
 honourable Secretary seems not to be aware of this 
 fact. I have great pleasure in telling him that a reso- 
 lution was there passed by acclamation since I gave 
 notice of this motion here ; and it is with the view of 
 producing the same result in this place that I must beg 
 leave to detain you with a summary of the official 
 career of the present Civil Commissioner of the Cape 
 District. He entered the civil service as a clerk in 
 1800, and continued gradually rising in that capacity 
 through several departments for about ten years, but 
 not without (in that youthful period) having so much 
 earned the confidence of Government as to be appointed 
 assistant secretary of a political mission sent beyond 
 the Orange River in 1801, nor without obtaining the 
 strongest testimonials from the authorities under whom 
 he acted, including the much-respected and gratefully 
 remembered Governor Janssens. The merited result 
 of this was, that on 1st January, 1810, Mr. Borcherds 
 was, though so young, appointed Secretary to the 
 district of Stellenbosch, an office the importance of 
 which can only be duly appreciated by those who have 
 been conversant with a system which is now much 
 desired to re-establish, that of Landdrost and Heemraden. 
 This appointment was made by a governor whom so 
 many of us still think of, as the warm friend of this 
 colony and its people, and from whom the gentleman 
 for whom I am pleading has one of the strongest
 
 429 
 
 recommendations to show. I need not say that I allude 
 to the late Earl of Caledon. Mr. Borcherds' conduct 
 in that capacity of secretary gained for him from an 
 equally esteemed ruler (Sir John T. Cradock), in 1813, 
 promotion to the post of Deputy Fiscal. How arduous 
 the duties of that office were might be well explained 
 by my venerable friend Mr. Denyssen, who was the 
 Chief Fiscal, and may easily be understood by the 
 honourable and learned Attorney-General, and the other 
 members of his profession ; and how they were per- 
 formed by the then Deputy Fiscal may be seen by a 
 strong testimonial communicated by the Colonial Secre- 
 tary upon an order from the supreme Government dated 
 5th May, 1817, and by a most important additional 
 charge intrusted to him on the 16th June, 1819, viz., 
 as one of the commissioners for framing a compendium 
 of colonial laws. In 1823, Mr. Borcherds became a 
 member of the then Supreme Court of the colony, and 
 held his seat on the bench until the abolition of that 
 court at the close of 1827. It was one of his duties 
 to go the circuit through the colony in his turn. I was 
 then Landdrost of Graaff-Reinet, one of whose mani- 
 fold duties was, that of acting Attorney-General or Crown 
 Prosecutor, besides being in some other respects subject 
 to the supervision of the judges. The official as well as 
 personal contact which was rendered unavoidable 
 between us, gave me an opportunity of becoming 
 intimately acquainted with, and duly appreciating the zeal, 
 ability, and character of the functionary and the man. 
 His legal decisions were above my judgment, but I know 
 that they gave satisfaction to his superiors and the 
 public. His equity and impartiality I can pronounce
 
 430 
 
 unexceptionable ; but in a country like this, it is the 
 personal example, the urbane dignity, the benign 
 sympathy with the feelings and social as well as religious 
 habits of the community, by which an official in high 
 station, clothed with authority, can in traversing the land 
 and coming in close contact with the masses, inspire 
 love and respect for himself and confidence in and 
 loyalty towards the Government that sends him ; and in 
 this respect, especially, do I feel myself personally (and 
 as head of one of the largest districts) and my native 
 country generally, under peculiar obligations to Mr. 
 Borcherds and others of his colleagues for the moral 
 tone and influence by which they supported and 
 strengthened the local executive. For upwards of 
 twenty-eight years then, Mr. Borcherds had gone 
 through the various stages of the public service, but 
 always receiving a very limited salary. Beginning with 
 four pounds ten shillings per annum (my honourable 
 friends may smile, but it is a fact) and ending with five 
 hundred. On 1st January, 1828, the Supreme Court 
 under a new system was ushered in, and Mr. Borcherds 
 having to vacate the judgeship in consequence, had an 
 opportunity of exhibiting the exalted principle which 
 actuated him. I had what may be called the weakness 
 of false pride to declare that I would rather live by the 
 spade than become civil commissioner after having been 
 landdrost ; but Mr. Borcherds' sense of duty to his 
 Country and Sovereign raised him above such secondary 
 considerations. He saw that he could be as useful as 
 ever, and without hesitation accepted of a complication 
 of charges by which his existence was rendered, and 
 has since been, one of incessant toil, mental exertion. 
 
 I
 
 431 
 
 and overwhelming responsibility, judicial as well as 
 administrative, equal in respectability but surpassing in 
 labour any one in the colony. His then past services 
 and conduct, and then present zeal and patriotism, were 
 not lost sight of; and as one part of the demonstration, 
 his salary was raised to eight hundred pounds sterling 
 per annum. This happened under the administration 
 of my excellent and in this colony most esteemed friend, 
 the then acting Governor Sir Richard Bourke, whose 
 testimony in favour of Mr. Borcherds is couched in the 
 strongest possible language. With this salary Mr. 
 Borcherds may be supposed to have been able to breathe 
 a little more freely ; but alas ! when he had added six 
 more years to the period of his services, when he had 
 served in the manner already detailed for four and 
 thirty years, when his duties, had increased as fast as 
 his years, when he had a large family to educate and 
 provide for, a reduction of certain high salaries became 
 unavoidable, and no exception was made in favour of 
 this faithful, useful veteran, who was brought down to 
 five hundred pounds with an allowance of one hundred 
 pounds for house-rent. This ruined his purse, but 
 broke not his public spirit, nor diminished his solicitude 
 for the public good, as you may find by the testimonies 
 of which I might here read to you — in addition to those 
 already quoted — from such men as Sir Benjamin 
 D'Urban, Sir George Napier, Sir John Truter, Attorney- 
 Generals Denyssen and Porter, and Lieutenant-Gover- 
 nor Darling, as well as from the Supreme Court and 
 the Executive Council, to which, sir (the president. Sir 
 John Wylde), I am glad to find I may add your own. 
 I now may wind up this imperfect sketch, by stating
 
 432 
 
 that Mr. Borcherds, on the verge of seventy, holds and 
 does ample justice to the following situations, namely : 
 
 (a) Civil Commissioner of the Cape Division since 
 
 1834. 
 
 (b) Resident Magistrate of Cape Town and Cape 
 
 District since 1828. 
 
 (c) Justice of the Peace for Cape Town and Cape 
 
 District since 1827. 
 
 (d) Member of the Committee of Land Registry 
 
 under Ordinance 97 since 1842. 
 
 (e) Road Magistrate for Cape Town and District 
 
 since 1846. 
 (^f) One of the Commissioners to examine Protocols 
 
 of Notaries since 1847. 
 {g) Chairman of Road Board of Cape Division since 
 
 1843. 
 (Ji) Chairman of Central Road Board since April, 
 
 1853. 
 (i) One of the Government Nominees in the Council 
 
 of Directors of the South African College 
 
 since December, 1850. 
 
 Now, sir, you have before you a colonist born and bred, 
 who has never been out of his native land, except once 
 visiting barbarians, when he went in the service of 
 Government. He consequently owes his extensive 
 acquirements (when we except the miserable instruction 
 which was here to be procured in the days of his 
 youth) exclusively to his own application, industry, and 
 talents. For fifty-four out of sixty-eight years of his 
 life, he has served this country, and for fifty-one out of | 
 these fifty-four, he toiled for the benefit and honour of 
 
 I
 
 433 
 
 the British Crown. Early he came into important 
 offices for the greatest portion of his official life ; he 
 held some of the most responsible, confidential situations, 
 as I have already detailed, and for the last six and 
 twenty years at least has performed the complicated 
 duties (some of them gratuitously) of several offices 
 concentrated upon his shoulders, which have rendered 
 his functions beyond comparison the most arduous 
 and laborious in the colony. And how have these duties 
 been performed ? In one word, most unexceptionably. 
 As judge, he has, I believe, the unqualified respect and 
 approbation of the Supreme Court and the leading 
 men of the bar. In his political or administrative 
 functions, he has ever been looked upon as especially a 
 Government man, without, however, losing sight of the 
 interests and rights of the people ; so that both the 
 ruling and the popular parties are equally indebted to 
 him. I have already shown that at the very time when 
 his labours became more overwhelming than ever, 
 when his years had reached beyond the prime of life, 
 when his physical strength began to decrease, and his 
 domestic obligations and liabilities had accumulated 
 around him, that then his official resources were para- 
 lyzed by a considerable reduction in his salary. I do 
 not quarrel with this reduction as a general measure, 
 because the state of the finances may have rendered it 
 imperative, but I do maintain it ought not to have 
 i)een allowed to fall upon a man who had served four 
 and thirty years (and served as he had done), and who 
 had just descended from the bench of the Supreme 
 Court into an inferior, but much more laborious position, 
 from purely patriotic motives. I speak of his official 
 
 2 F
 
 434 
 
 resources because he has no other ; and this memoir 
 can prove to you that the reduction hterally ruined 
 him financially. It must appear impertinent in me, 
 thus diving into the private circumstances of a high- 
 minded, high-principled gentleman, who has not author- 
 ized me to meddle with his case ; but I am quite ready 
 to apologize for publicly saying that the treatment which 
 Mr. Borcherds has met with has made him very poor 
 in the winter of his days ; and I may add that any 
 man may be proud of poverty who can trace it to the 
 same sources. I have also occasionally been classed, 
 justly or not, among the so-called patriots of South 
 Africa, I also sometimes flatter myself that I have 
 tried to serve my Sovereign and Country. I also have 
 had to struggle with low salaries, but it was my fate to 
 be in a position to create for myself a sort of rallying 
 point to retreat upon, whenever official resources failed. 
 I did obtain a grant of land, and had my flocks to 
 help me, but my client (if I may so call a friend who 
 has not even consulted me) has devoted all the days 
 and most of the nights of his life (except those of 
 the cradle and of childhood) to the toils of office, 
 and had not a moment to look after any flock but 
 the Government and the public ; so that when he 
 makes his final exit he leaves his widow and other 
 dependents penniless. I may be asked why, if this 
 case be so strong, it has been so long neglected ? It 
 has not been neglected by the party chiefly concerned, 
 who knew his duty to his family as well as that to his 
 country ; nor has the Government refused to admit and 
 consider his case ; but the humble unpretending mode 
 in which he has gradually increased his claim, without
 
 435 
 
 ostentation or obtrusion, has prevented the pubHc ear 
 from being dinned with the grievance until now. When 
 I think that one of the blessings to be derived from the 
 Constitution will be the removal by Parliament of the 
 difficulties which the Executive may see in the way of 
 redress in such cases, I need say no more. I am 
 thankful for the attention with which I have been 
 listened to. We may safely, I trust, leave the pecuniary 
 part of the question to the consideration of another 
 place ; but I think it desira>jle that beyond the mere 
 matter of pounds, shillings, and pence, the expression of 
 Her Majesty's approbation would be a valuable boon to 
 her venerable, faithful, and meritorious servant. I 
 therefore move : ' That an address be presented to His 
 Honour the Lieutenant-Governpr, praying that he may 
 be pleased to bring to the particular notice of Her 
 Majesty's Government the long and valuable services 
 rendered to this colony for upwards of fifty-four years 
 by P. B. Borcherds, Esq., Civil Commissioner of the 
 Cape division, forty-eight years whereof have been 
 devoted to the service of the British Crown.' 
 
 " Mr. Ebden seconded the motion, stating the warm 
 respect he had been led to entertain for Mr. Borcherds, 
 during the long course of his knowledge of that gen- 
 tleman's official and private life. 
 
 " Mr. Vigne could hardly claim the honour of the ac- 
 quaintance of the gentleman whose name and merits 
 were brought forward in the motion ; but he had ever 
 heard him spoken of in a manner amply justifying 
 the eulogies which the honourable baronet had 
 pronounced. 
 
 2 F 2
 
 436 
 
 "Mr. Rutherfoord could bear testimony to the irre- 
 proachable character which Mr. Borcherds had always 
 sustained in this colony. The reduction of his salary 
 at the time and under the circumstances stated by the 
 honourable baronet was a reproach to the Government 
 and the colony. 
 
 " Mr. Godlonton said that it was refreshing amidst 
 the turmoil of different political views, that the members 
 of Council could have the opportunity of uniting to do 
 honour where it was so justly due. Even all the dis- 
 tance in which he himself lived from the scene of Mr, 
 Borcherds' ordinary avocations, that officers reputation 
 was well known. It was gratifying that his claims had 
 been taken up so warmly by one who had long served 
 the public himself, and was so well able to judge per- 
 sonally of the character of the work done for the 
 Government and the public by the gentleman who had j 
 been so honourably named. " 
 
 "The Colonial Secretary wished to bring to the no- 
 tice of the House, without attempting to disparage for 
 one moment the merits or services of Mr. Borcherds, 
 the unprecedented step that was proposed. It was not 
 usual in the Imperial Parliament thus to bring the ser- 
 vices of an individual officer to the notice of the Crown; 
 yet perhaps the unprecedented honour may be consi- 
 dered as peculiarly appropriate to the case of such 
 services as those that had been alluded to. To himself, 
 in his own position, it was a matter of much gratifica- 
 sion to feel that a public officer could by a long course 
 of beneficial service to the country earn such acknow- 
 ledgments from its legislature. He thought it right
 
 437 
 
 to oifer these few remarks', but would say nothing in 
 opposition to the motion." 
 
 Sir A. Stockenstrom in reply said, — " I feel truly grate- 
 ful for the cordiality and sympathy with which my 
 sentiments have been responded to, and I trust that 
 even if contrary to all expectation ample justice should 
 not be done to Mr. Borcherds by the Queen's Govern- 
 ment, at least the public men, and especially the young 
 beginners in the colonial service, will be convinced 
 that the Parliament and the country it represents will 
 not be found inditferent about or ungrateful for zeal, 
 ability, and honesty, evinced in the cause of their fellow- 
 subjects. I trust that this example, as well as that of 
 other eminent men, who are only second to Mr. Bor- 
 cherds in length of service, will be extensively follow- 
 ed ; and I cannot omit to express my sincere thanks to 
 the honourable Secretary, who, whilst he considers our 
 proceedings unprecedented and unusual, shows that he 
 also looks upon the case before us as uncommon, and 
 warmly enters into the feeling of the House by backing- 
 its testimony as far as he has had time to experience 
 how well it is merited. I am glad that I was not aware 
 that I was steering an unprecedented course, for al- 
 though that knowledge would not have altered my feel- 
 ings, it might have made me more particular as to form. 
 At all events, I believe that the House may rely on the 
 co-operation and justice of His Honour the Lieutenant- 
 Governor." 
 
 The motion was carried unanimously, and Sir 
 Andries Stockenstrom, Mr. Rutherfoord, and Mr. Blaine 
 were appointed a committee to draw up an appropriate 
 address to the Lieutenant-Governor on the subject.
 
 438 
 
 Documents to which Sir Andries Stockenstrom alluded 
 in his speech in the Legislative Council. 
 
 [ No. 1. ] 
 
 I, the undersigned, Johannes Wege, Secretary of 
 the Drostdy Stellenbosch, do hereby certify that Mr. 
 Petrus Borchardus Borcherds, after having served some 
 months at the Secretary's office at Stellenbosch in the 
 year 1800, has been appointed at the recommendation 
 of Landdrost and Heemraden as clerk in said office ; 
 that in September of the following year he proceeded 
 on a journey to the interior of the colony and returned 
 in 1802, and served again for a certain period in said 
 office ; and further that during the whole time of his 
 serving in said situation, under superintendence of the 
 undersigned, he performed his duty with all diligence, 
 to the particular satisfaction of the undersigned, and has 
 given proof to be a person of very good conduct. 
 
 Therefore this is granted to said Borcherds at his 
 request as a person meriting recommendation, to be 
 used in such manner as may be thought proper. 
 
 This certified at the Secretary's office at Stellenbosch, 
 this 27th day of September, 1809, and verified by my 
 usual signature. 
 
 J. Wege. 
 
 [ No. 2. ] 
 
 I, the undersigned, P. J. Truter, senior, Member 
 of the Court of Justice at the Cape of Good Hope, do 
 certify by these presents that Mr. Petrus Borchardus 
 Borcherds, at present clerk in the Court of Justice
 
 439 
 
 office, has been employed from the 1st October, 1801, 
 until the 1st October, 1802, with the sanction and 
 approbation of His Excellency the then Governor, 
 Francis Dundas, as Assistant Secretary to the Govern- 
 ment expedition in the interior parts of this Colony, 
 and especially to the Beriquas and Boshuanahs, in which 
 I had the honour to be first commissioner. 
 
 That the conduct, behaviour, and zeal of said 
 Borcherds in that situation has proved fully satisfactory 
 to the Commissioner William Somerville, Esq., the 
 Secretary Mr. S. Daniell, and myself; that whenever in 
 this expedition — which was attended with many dangers 
 and fatigues — during the day and night his services were 
 required, I found him always willing and attentive, at 
 all times endeavouring to collect such information and 
 regard such instruction as tended to improve his know- 
 ledge of the country and promote other beneficial 
 purposes. 
 
 I therefore do not hesitate to give said Borcherds, at 
 his request, this certificate, that he might make use of 
 the same in such manner as he shall judge proper. 
 
 P. J. Truter, sen. 
 Cape of Good Hope, 15th Sept., 1809. 
 
 
 [ No. 3. ] 
 South Africa, Cape of Good Hope, 
 28th February, 1806. 
 
 Sir, — I have the honour to return you my thanks for 
 the attention and zeal which you have manifested in
 
 440 
 
 assisting to finish and arrange my papers. Your beha- 
 viour in this instance affords me the agreeable prospect 
 that you will by perseverance always render yourself 
 deserving of approbation from your superiors, by which 
 you will ensure to yourself that degree of happiness 
 which all virtuous and industrious young men are 
 
 entitled to. 
 
 I have, Sec, 
 
 J. W. Janssens. 
 To Mr. P. B. Borcherds. 
 
 [General Janssens had been Governor of the Colony 
 under the Batavian Government.] 
 
 [ No. 4. ] 
 Government House, 18th January, 1810. 
 
 Sir, — I could not feel otherwise than highly gratified 
 by those expressions of obligation and regard which 
 were contained in your letter addressed to me upon the 
 27th December ultimo. 
 
 It has been my study in the selections which I have 
 made for oflice that the individual should not only be 
 eligible from his public capacity, but also from his 
 private worth, and it must be an additional source of 
 pleasure for you to know that had not your son appeared 
 eligible in each point of view, I should not have selected 
 him for promotion. 
 
 His own merit brought him into my notice, and my 
 respect for your character confirmed me in the inclina- 
 tion to serve him. 
 
 I beg you, sir, to accept my sincere wishes for a long 
 continuance of the domestic happiness you at present
 
 441 
 
 enjoy, and trust that you will consider me, with perfect 
 esteem, your very faithful friend and most obedient 
 servant, 
 
 Caledon. 
 The Rev. M. Borcherds, V.D.M. 
 
 [His Lordship was then Governor of the Colony.] 
 
 [ No. 5. ] 
 Colonial Office, 5th May, 1S17. 
 Sir, — I am directed by His Excellency the Governor 
 to inform you that he has received the sanction of His 
 Majesty's Government in England, to an increase of 
 salary being made to the Deputy Fiscal Mr. Borcherds, 
 in consideration of his useful and meritorious services. 
 Mr. Borcherds will therefore draw salary at the rate of 
 Rds. 4,500 per annum, so lojig as he shall fill the situa- 
 tion of Deputy Fiscal ; but upon his vacating that office, 
 the salary of the Deputy Fiscal will revert to its former 
 standard of Rds. 3,000 per annum, the increased allow- 
 ance to commence from 1st July last. 
 
 I have, &c.. 
 
 C. Bird. 
 
 To D. Denyssen, Esq., H.M. Fiscal. 
 
 [ No. 6. ] 
 The undersigned, J. A. Truter, Knt., late Chief 
 Justice at the Cape of Good Hope, and since 1789 
 employed in chief offices in this colony, and thus 
 
 ^ enabled to observe closely the conduct and official 
 duties performed by Mr. P. B. Borcherds, now Civil
 
 442 
 
 Commissioner and Resident Magistrate of Cape Town 
 and Cape District, doth hereby certify that he, Mr. 
 Borcherds, after serving a considerable period as clerk 
 and afterwards secretary of the district of Stellenbosch, 
 was promoted in 1813 as Deputy Fiscal in Cape Town 
 whilst I was Chief Justice, and continued as such till 
 1 823, when he was appointed as Member of the Court 
 of Justice, and in 1825 as permanent Sitting Commis- 
 sioner (a situation corresponding nearly with the present 
 magistracy), and as such also employed in extra com- 
 mittees, and especially to frame a general placard (in 
 conjunction with me) for the colony; and the under- 
 signed declares that he never observed in the conduct 
 of Mr. Borcherds the least neglect, inattention, or 
 inactivity, but, on the contrary, that unwearied applica- 
 tion and attentiveness marked his whole conduct, and 
 that he signalized himself in particular by talent, sound 
 judgment, and propriety in every situation, so much so, 
 indeed, that the undersigned doth not in the least 
 hesitate conscientiously to pronounce that he considered 
 Mr. Borcherds always, and still doth consider him at 
 present, as one of the most meritorious functionaries in 
 the Government of this colony. 
 
 Given under my hand, this 6th day of July, in the 
 year of our Lord 1836. 
 
 J. A. Truter. 
 
 [ No. 7. ] 
 Clifton, Bristol, 11th March, 1851. 
 I have much pleasure in expressing the high opinion 
 I entertain of the services rendered by Mr. Borcherds,
 
 443 
 
 whilst employed during my administration at the Cape 
 of Good Hope, in the yeafs 1826, 1827, and 1828. I 
 found Mr. Borcherds on my arrival in the colony, at 
 the commencement of 1826, on the bench of the chief 
 Colonial Court, and having noticed with what industry 
 and intelligence he discharged those duties, I appointed 
 him to other offices of a more active and important 
 character in the administration of justice and police in 
 Cape Town, and had the satisfaction of being assured 
 that I had greatly benefited the colony in the selection 
 and appointment of Mr. Borcherds. 
 
 The very considerable offices he has since held and 
 still holds, proves this early preference to have been 
 well founded, and at the same time have established the 
 claim of Mr, Borcherds on the public consideration, 
 whenever his advanced age (his whole life having been 
 devoted to the colony) sh^,ll render his retirement 
 advisable. 
 
 Richard Bourke, Lieut. -General. 
 
 [ No. 8. ] 
 The Civil Commissioner and Resident Magistrate of 
 the Cape district, Petrus Borchardus Borcherds, Esq., 
 having referred to us for our opinion as to the manner 
 in which from the establishment of the Supreme Court 
 in this Colony, on the 1st January, 1828, he has 
 appeared to us to have conducted the very laborious 
 duties attached to those appointments, — we most 
 readily take advantage of such opportunity to express 
 the very high and perfect satisfaction with which 
 we have found him to have performed the duties 
 of the resident magistracy, and to afford him hereby the
 
 444 
 
 strongest testimony in our power to convey, as to the 
 fidelity, industry, and efficiency with which he has 
 been enabled to execute the manifold and oppressive 
 duties, with no less credit to himself than advantage to 
 the public. 
 
 John Wylde, Chief Justice. 
 
 W. Menzies. 
 
 G. Kekewich. 
 
 Supreme Court Chambers, Cape of Good Hope, 
 2nd July, 1836. 
 
 [ No. 9. ] 
 
 Sir George Napier, the Governor, on leaving the 
 colony wrote the following letter : 
 
 Cape of Good Hope, Camp Ground, 
 
 31st March, 1844. 
 My dear Mr. Borcherds, — 1 have great pleasure in 
 bearing testimony to your high character as one of the 
 oldest Government servants in the colony, and one who 
 has invariably received the approbation and confidence 
 of every Governor since you first became a public 
 functionary. I have spoken to Sir Peregrine Maitland 
 in high terms of you, and I shall also to Lord Stanley, 
 and most happy shall I be if what I report may be of 
 service ; and in wishing you every success and prosperity, 
 and assuring you of my approbation of your conduct 
 during the six years I have been Governor, believe me, 
 
 My dear Mr. Borcherds, 
 
 Yours faithfully, 
 
 Geo. Napier.
 
 445 
 
 [ No. 10. ] 
 
 On my application that the allowance of house-rent 
 should be drawn as salary, Sir Harry Smith gave in 
 reply the following minute : 
 
 Government House, Cape Town, 
 
 3rd May, 1848. 
 It appears to me that the present is not the occasion 
 to further Mr. Borcherds' views, but when this valuable 
 and faithful officer desires to retire after his lenoth of 
 services, then should application be made for his retiring 
 allowance upon the principle he proposes, and Mr. 
 Borcherds is to be assured my strongest recommendation 
 shall accompany such application to the Secretary of 
 State, for no public servant ever more zealously served 
 his Government in a greater variety of offices or with 
 greater zeal and ability. 
 
 This minute, &c. 
 
 H. G. Smith, Governor. 
 
 [ No. 11. ] 
 
 In the Supreme Court, 
 
 Cape of Good Hope. 
 
 In respect of my office, since I entered upon the 
 same in November, 1827, it has been part of my judicial 
 duty to have in cognizance the proceedings of the 
 Resident Magistrate's Court in Cape Town. 
 
 From the period thence up to the present date, that 
 court has been presided over, and remained in the sole 
 administration (except for some short intervals on leave 
 of absence) of Mr. P. B. Borcherds, as and still the
 
 446 
 
 Resident Magistrate of Cape district, who has also as 
 long continued to fulfil the responsible duties of its 
 Civil Commissioner. 
 
 No other resident magistrate's court throughout the 
 colony can have had so much business in its jurisdiction 
 to transact ; the civil commissioner of no other district 
 can have been more heavily chargeable with district 
 concerns and personal responsibility. To the due 
 control, management, and execution of such weighty 
 conjoint official duties, strong capacity, constant atten- 
 tion, sound judgment, high principle, and matured 
 experience were absolutely requisite, and in the highly 
 satisfactory performance of such functions by Mr. Bor- 
 cherds, he has evinced his full possession of those 
 eminent qualifications and proved his title. I am 
 impressed to the fullest concurrent testimony as to such 
 his acquirements, of all who have been interested in or 
 had occasion for observance upon the jurisdiction and 
 services in his charge. 
 
 The appeals from his sentences in his weekly courts 
 (averaging one thousand five hundred cases in each 
 year) to the Supreme Court have been so few as to 
 convince beyond all question of the confidence reposed 
 in and avouched by his conscientious and well-considered 
 decisions, while no public officer in the establishment 
 can stand, I conceive, higher in general respect as to 
 courtesy, attention, and fidelity in the entire department 
 intrusted to his vigilance, discretion, and effective 
 superintendence. 
 
 John Wylde, Chief Justice of the Colony. 
 Supreme Court Chambers, 8th July, 1851.
 
 447 
 
 [ No. 12. ] 
 
 I, Daniel Denyssen, LL.D., do hereby certify that 
 in or about the month of April, 1803, when I was one 
 of the Members of the Court of Justice, and was acting 
 for the Secretary of the said Court, who was then 
 absent from the Colony, Mr. P. B. Borcherds, at present 
 Civil Commissioner of the Cape division and Resident 
 Magistrate of Cape Town, has been appointed clerk at 
 the secretary's office of the said court, and has as far as I 
 can recollect continued in the said situation, till, on the 
 1st January, 1810, he was promoted to the situation of 
 Secretary to the district of Stellenbosch ; and afterwards 
 on the 19th March, 1813, has been promoted to the 
 situation of Deputy Fiscal, in which he has remained 
 till 21st February, 1823, when he was promoted to a 
 membership in the Court of Justice. That during the 
 time Mr. Borcherds has served in the department at 
 the head of which I was placed, he has discharged the 
 duties of his office faithfully and diligently, to my 
 satisfaction ; whilst his uninterrupted continuance in 
 the public service of this colony sufficiently proves that 
 his conduct as a public servant has been approved by 
 Government. 
 
 Daniel Denyssen. 
 
 Cape Town, Cape of Good Hope, 
 3rd June, 1852. 
 
 [ No. 13. ] 
 Attorney- General's Office, 
 
 Cape Town, 30th June, 1852. 
 Considerino- the number of the testimonials which 
 Mr. Borcherds has (as I am aware) received from time
 
 448 
 
 to time during his more than half a century of service, 
 I could scarcely have expected that he would wish one 
 from me. When I came to the Cape, now fourteen years 
 ago, Mr. Borcherds was already an old public servant. 
 Since that time we have both continued to hold our 
 respective offices, he that of Civil Commissioner and 
 Resident Magistrate and I that of Attorney-General, 
 and it is this circumstance alone which can give to my 
 opinion of his services any degree of value. No other 
 officer in the colony can well be so conversant as the 
 Attorney-General with the manner in which the Resi- 
 dent Magistrate of Cape Town discharged his magisterial 
 duties; and I may safely say that in regard to the duties 
 discharged by Mr. Borcherds which are not of a 
 magisterial nature I am not wholly uninformed. As a 
 member of the Executive Council, public prosecutor, 
 and practising advocate, I am necessarily in a position 
 to pronounce an opinion respecting the manner in 
 which Mr. Borcherds has performed his stated as well 
 as his occasional duties. 
 
 Under these circumstances, I can have no hesitation 
 in saying that all these duties have been, in my opinion, 
 performed in a most creditable manner. The criminal 
 and civil business of Mr. Borcherds' court (which is 
 four times as large as that of Graham's Town, and 
 which equals or exceeds that of all the remaining 
 magistrates of the colony) has been at all times discharged 
 in such a way as to inspire the public of all ranks and 
 classes with the most perfect confidence in the magis- 
 trate's capacity, and still more in his love of justice. 
 Appeals from his judgments have been singularly rare, 
 and in such appeals as have been brought, his judg- 
 ments have been so generally affirmed as sufficiently to 
 
 i
 
 449 
 
 prove the care and consideration with which they were 
 formed. I can undertake to say, from a pretty intimate 
 acquaintance with the sentiments of the inhabitants of 
 Cape Town upon the subject, that no suspicion of 
 uprightness of the magistrate has ever crossed the mind 
 of any suitor, and that the decisions of Mr. Borcherds 
 give general satisfaction. 
 
 In the various and important extra duties for the 
 performance of which the Government (feehng the value 
 of the services of a man of standing and character) has 
 selected Mr. Borcherds, his conduct has invariably 
 justified the choice, and obtained the approbation both 
 of the Government and the pubHc. 
 
 Mr. Borcherds is now, I think, the oldest civil servant 
 in the colony. I am not conscious of exaggerating his 
 claims to consideration when I say, that not one of his 
 juniors in the service could well desire a better fortune 
 than to enjoy at the end of as long a career as fair a 
 reputation. 
 
 William Porter. 
 
 Q 
 
 I
 
 450 
 
 SECTION xvn. 
 
 And reverting from my course of public life to the 
 private and domestic concerns, I have to state : 
 
 That in 1845 it so happened that our children had 
 all found their way in the world, and that Mrs. Borcherds 
 and myself were left without any of the members of the 
 family, and our home comparatively became solitary. 
 Moreover, her health began to fail, and the medical 
 men were of opinion that living in town might be 
 detrimental. 
 
 This led me to leave our old and comfortable mansion. 
 No. 7, Strand -street, where I had spent so many happy 
 days in the bosom of my family, and take our residence 
 at Wynberg, with my son, Mr. Johannes Gysbertus 
 Borcherds, who was there Acting Clerk of the Peace; 
 and it had the beneficial effect that her health improved 
 and she recovered. 
 
 As it seemed now advisable to take a permanent 
 residence in the country, I settled on a piece of ground 
 purchased from my son, on the summit of Wynberg Hill, 
 to which were added other small pieces since purchased. 
 
 These were uncultivated ; and having ascertained by 
 digging a well that excellent water could there be 
 obtained, I resolved to build the little villa which I 
 now (the beginning of 1858) occupy, and cultivate the 
 grounds. This was accomplished in a few months, and 
 we named it " Bellevue," from the beautiful and exten- 
 sive view there, commanding in front the Hottentots' 
 Holland, Stellenbosch, Paarl, and more distant range 
 of mountains towards Tulbagh, besides the sight of 
 False Bay and adjacent hills ; and behind, Constantia,
 
 451 
 
 Table and Windberg Mountains ; and to the right also 
 the lakes of Sand and Seacow Valley, in the vicinity of 
 Muizenberg. 
 
 The salubrious and airy situation, contributed much 
 to our health ; the little garden adjoining succeeded 
 beyond expectation, and we have already gathered 
 several fruits from the trees planted ; and I may say that 
 although our course has not been entirely without sorrow 
 and grief, yet during our residence there, many unex- 
 pected blessings have, thank God ! been our share. 
 
 Retired from public life, our establishment is that of 
 happy mediocrity, and our few wants are amply supplied 
 in the neighbourhood. We are surrounded by a circle 
 of dear friends, among whom the Reverend Doctor P. 
 E. Faure and his family, who are related to us, — he being 
 son of our brother-in-law, Mr. Jacobus Christiaan Faure, 
 out of whose house, as before mentioned, we were 
 married in 1806; and several of them are very kind. 
 To these may be added two families of children residing 
 in the neighbourhood, one the widow of my eldest son 
 the late Meent Borcherds and her four children, the 
 other of my son Richard, his wife, and four children ; 
 and these give life to our family circle. 
 
 With regard to the village we are also conveniently 
 situated. Our plain but neat village church is but a 
 few minutes distant from our dwelling. Medical aid is 
 near and at hand, our supplies are mostly brought to 
 the door ; and our position being central between Cape 
 Town, Simon's Town, and Kalk Bay, we have opportunity 
 for chano;e of air and recreation within a few miles. 
 
 The vicinity and neighbourhood of the village are 
 extremely picturesque. On my travels in the country 
 
 2 G 2
 
 452 
 
 I saw no scenery like it ; and it is a treat to visit the 
 beautiful estates and villas, where we invariably meet 
 with a kind reception and hospitality. Opposite to 
 Bellevue the extensive flats afford ample opportunity for 
 exercise, and are adorned in season with most beautiful 
 heaths and bulbous flowers, sometimes assuming the 
 appearance of an immense carpet, showing at a distance 
 several cottages and clusters of trees dotted on the 
 surface to an extent of about six miles, when first a 
 belt of downs and then afterwards the range of hills 
 above mentioned, close in perspective those (with many 
 shades) diversified fields. The sight was cheerful, and 
 we had every reason to be thankful that at our advanced 
 stage of life such a healthy spot had been our share. 
 
 Nowhere have I seen the sun rise with more splen- 
 dour than when making his appearance from behind the 
 opposite hills about thirty miles distant ; and to attempt 
 to describe the golden tints on the tops of them, and the 
 reflection of his beams on the morning clouds, would 
 be in vain. 
 
 Towards the west the sun sets equally beautiful, and 
 sinks behind the Table or Constantia Mountains, or in 
 the gap of Hout Bay. Magnificently sometimes the 
 clouds are tinted almost from east to west by the reflec- 
 tion of the last and departing rays. 
 
 I was more than once struck by the rising of the full 
 moon, when she threw her soft light from the summit 
 of those hills over the flats; and in winter when covered 
 with small lakes, these appeared as so many silvery 
 specks on the shady ground and surface ; and also when 
 this bright luminary sunk in her plenitude at the dawn 
 of day in the west.
 
 453 
 
 This sweet home was, on the anniversaries of birth 
 and marriage-days, open to the reception of children and 
 friends, to share in our blessing for having been thus 
 far spared, and to join in our thanksgiving for preserva- 
 tion and welfare, and prayer for continuation during 
 the remaining days of life, and the wishes were mutual. 
 
 As a retirement I valued the spot, for there, withdrawn 
 from the noise and turmoil of town, I found in silence 
 room for mental improvement, especially now when 
 relieved from the duties of office. Reading and w^riting 
 and spending a few hours of the day in my study 
 became my favourite pastime, and there these fruits of 
 my labours were collected. There I enjoyed leisure 
 hours which I could never command before, and oppor- 
 tunity to take advantage of those relics of mental 
 effusions left by so many friends of mankind, and orna- 
 ments to the human race,' before they closed their 
 earthly course and exchanged their temporal abode for 
 the home of eternity. There I had time to scan over 
 some of the precious fruits of their thoughts, learning, 
 and diligence, left for instruction and guidance ; whilst 
 I felt and deplored that the time for deep study was past. 
 There the Book of Revelation could be quietly searched 
 and that of Nature consulted, with edification to the mind. 
 There the chirping of the birds announced cheerfully 
 the approach of day, and warbled that it was time to 
 rise. There reflection had scope to trace in retrospec- 
 tive review the events of past years, months, days, 
 hours, and moments, connected with duties attached to 
 the filial, connubial, or parental state, to the membership 
 of society, and to those of the Christian. Extensive 
 were these reflections, and serious the result of the test.
 
 454 
 
 Imperfection marked beginning, progress, and end. 
 Deficiencies left many a blank, deeds many a blot, 
 circumstances not to be altered or recalled, room to 
 deplore ; and the consolation entertained that a throne 
 of grace could be approached was the great sheet- 
 anchor of hope. There in prospect I felt that by fixed 
 ordination the day was approaching whereon I should 
 be called to that retreat where the eye will be closed, 
 the mind dormant, the heart cease to beat, the feeling 
 extinguished, and the frame reduced to insensibility of 
 earthly enjoyments, but the spirit live ; and I could only 
 find refuge in prayer that by grace and mercy I might 
 be spared to enjoy, after departing, that indescribable 
 happiness to which the vision of man is yet blind, his 
 ear deaf, his mind incapable to conceive, and his heart 
 too narrow to embrace : — and there (dear offspring) rests 
 the result of my anxieties, cares, and troubles, and 
 my faint expectation and hope ; confiding that my 
 benign Creator's dispensation will ultimately pronounce 
 His love. 
 
 I have been imperceptibly drawn from the object in 
 view : it was to give an account of one of the most 
 memorable days of my life, namely, reaching the fiftieth 
 year of our marriage on Sunday, 4th May, 1856. This 
 is termed in Dutch : " Het Gouden Bruiloffs Feest," or 
 translated " The Golden Wodding Day," and it was 
 determined that it should be celebrated according to 
 the good ancient custom. Of the twelve sons and five 
 daughters, only six sons and three daughters were spared 
 and alive. The morning was bright, and the day was 
 calm as on that of our union, when a beloved and 
 revered parent, as minister, first joined us in his church 
 
 f
 
 455 
 
 at Stellenbosch in the holy bonds of matrimony, and 
 gave us his blessing in presence of the congregation, 
 accompanied by fervent prayers and the tenderest 
 expressions of feeling for our future welfare. 
 
 I can hardly express how I felt that his wishes had 
 been realized, and his prayers not rejected, and that a 
 good Providence had spared us (even perhaps more 
 than had been anticipated) to enjoy for half a century 
 that state which with all its cares, anxieties, and 
 responsibilities, I still hold the most preferable and true 
 position of man upon earth. I consider it as the original 
 social compact, created when our first parents were in 
 the enjoyment of perfection in Paradise, and that it is 
 still susceptible of great happiness when entered with 
 the determination to be bound by all its sacred ties and 
 solemn performances, and the duties and obligations 
 attached to that important and interesting station 
 of life. 
 
 WeW, to return to my narrative. All relatives, friends, 
 and those about us seemed happy, and to share in our 
 feehngs. Nature clothed herself in beauty and calmness 
 around our habitation; this contributed in no small 
 degree to our enjoyment ; and we considered the day 
 as one of the most blessed, which our Heavenly Father 
 had bestowed on us in our matrimonial path through 
 hfe. 
 
 Being on a Sabbath day, it was kept retired and quiet 
 in the circle only of the more immediate family 
 connexions. 
 
 In the morning we attended public service in the 
 Dutch Reformed Church at Wynberg, accompanied by 
 three sons, three daughters, seven grand-children, three
 
 456 
 
 great grand-children, and four relatives or children 
 in-law. Also by my wife's only brother, Captain Carel 
 Gerhard Blanckenberg (who had been " best-man" or 
 bridesman in 1806), and my sister, Anna Gesina 
 Borcherds, widow of the late Hendrik Cloete, Dirk's son, 
 who had also been present at our wedding. She 
 represented my eldest sister, Aletta Jacoba, widow 
 of the late Lieutenant-Colonel Allen Cameron, who 
 had been the bridesmaid, and is now residing in 
 England. 
 
 How difl'erent, after fifty years' experience, were my 
 opinions, sensations, and feelings, to those when I went 
 to church on the marriage day. 
 
 Imagination had pictured to me a scene of uninter- 
 rupted happiness. Hope flattered with success all my 
 plans and schemes. In prospect I fancied a family of 
 cheerful and lovely children, always encircling and 
 encouraging me to watch over their tender years, and 
 make provision for their education and wants. I 
 calculated by industrious pursuits upon such success, 
 that if I were spared to reach a sixtieth year, I might 
 comfortably retire. In fact, nothing appeared to me 
 likely to disturb my prospect of being a happy husband 
 and father ; and in the heat of a feverish, youthful 
 imagination, I left out of sight, that Life had its 
 dark side, and that its events are as the ebb and 
 flow, and varying as the tide of human circumstances 
 require. 
 
 But time and experience have shown the fallacy of 
 these calculations, and undrawn the curtain which 
 screened the real scenery, and lifted the veil which 
 covered such visionary and ideal expectations. 

 
 457 
 
 The stage of life gradually disclosed that between the 
 scenes of pleasure and delight tragedy had a share, — 
 that the sun of prosperity was not always bright, but 
 that clouds even to darkness overshadowed our path, — 
 that enjoyments were mingled with pain, — that care and 
 anxiety were not to be avoided, and the day of sorrow 
 and affliction to be borne with humble submission and 
 moral courage, — that the best calculated plans failed, — 
 that exertions were not always rewarded, — in fact, that 
 disappointments were unavoidable, and patience and 
 resignation the great sources of consolation and comfort. 
 In vain was the attempt to force and change the tide 
 of events, for a Higher Power visibly directed accord- 
 ing to His all-wise plan ; so that which at the time 
 was considered a misfortune proved often in the sequel 
 a blessino'. 
 
 And now, after calmly consfdering and weighing the 
 good and evil in the balance of our fate, I am bound 
 solemnly to admit that blessing has far exceeded that 
 which we considered the reverse ; and that we have 
 every reason to thank Our Heavenly Father that He 
 has thus spared and preserved our lives, directed our 
 course, and surrounded us still with so many undeserved 
 tokens of His infinite goodness and mercy. 
 
 The varnish which imagination had spread over the 
 picture of life had now disappeared, and the reality 
 followed ; and though not without blemish, yet showing 
 a pleasing and instructive feature to the steady and fixed 
 eye, and seeming an object of much greater importance 
 in prospect than the events of the past. 
 
 But let me proceed and describe our presence in the 
 church ; my wife had taken her seat by my side in the
 
 458 
 
 front pew on the left of the pulpit, and the children and 
 offspring had placed themselves next to us. Our friend 
 the minister (Dr. Faure) was indisposed, and could not 
 lead the service, but Mr. Ruytenbeek, the missionary 
 of the Reformed Church, acted for him. He remem- 
 bered in his prayer the events of the day, supplicated 
 for the continuance of our welfare, and offered thanks 
 for us who had now been joined in wedlock for half a 
 century, and for the blessings enjoyed in public and 
 private stations, and recommended us further to the 
 Lord's protection with the hopes and prospects of eternal 
 salvation. 
 
 I must confess that my feelings were aroused and 
 elevated when I heard this solemn address thus offered 
 most impressively in the midst of the congregation of 
 my Christian brethren and sisters. I have no doubt but 
 it found a sympathetic response in the hearts of many 
 present, with whom we had sojourned for many years, 
 and with whom we were so well acquainted. 
 
 He took his text from Nahum, chapter 1, v. 7: 
 " The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble, 
 and He knoweth them that trust in Him." 
 
 Several of the passages in his sermon strikingly 
 corresponded with my feelings, and were applicable to 
 the peculiar circumstances, as well as the 68th Psalm, 
 10th verse (19th and 20th of the English version), 100th 
 Psalm, and 12th of our Evangelical Hymns, 1st and 
 6th verses, sung by the congregation. 
 
 This incidental occurrence of the service left on my 
 mind the deeper impression and recollection of the 
 marriage day, as the solemn proceedings corresponded 
 with those on the day of our union ; so that imperceptibly
 
 i 
 
 459 
 
 I fancied myself drawn back to that past event in 
 the midst of my father's congregation, and I need not 
 repeat what my sensations were. 
 
 After church we visited our minister (who was better), 
 and his reception was most friendly. He added a word 
 of kindness and congratulation for the great benefits 
 we had received at the hands of our Heavenly Father, 
 and participated cordially in the privileges bestowed 
 upon us, expressing his sincere wish that our days 
 might be prolonged, and for our future temporal and 
 eternal prosperity. 
 
 Thus edified we returned to Bellevue with cheerful 
 and grateful hearts, and there met two of our sons, one 
 grand-daughter, and one grand-son-in-law, who had in 
 the mean time arrived, so that the descendants present 
 were now eight children, eight grand-children, four 
 great-grand-children, four children and grand-children- 
 in-law, and to these were added our sister-in-law (Mrs. 
 Anne Catharina Blanckenberg, born Neethling) and a 
 few other friends. 
 
 We were also visited by Mr. Suasso de Lima, LL.D., 
 who had been many years in this colony, and he politely 
 delivered a printed address and poem (in Dutch) 
 entitled " Heilgroet by den Gouden Bruiloft," or 
 translated " Salutation of blessing on the golden 
 wedding-day." 
 
 Having alluded to the sacred bonds of matrimony 
 and the rare occurrence of its lasting half a century, the 
 many changes and casualties within so long a period, 
 the number who had meanwhile departed, and those 
 still living and born within that period, how many were 
 suffering in health and under calamities, and how many
 
 460 
 
 were enjoying the recreating beams of God Almighty's 
 sun, — he considered this day of deep interest, and that 
 the words of David might be suitably applied, as men- 
 tioned in the 128th Psalm, part of vs. 2 to 6, and 
 129th Psalm, part of v. 8, " Happy shalt thou be, and 
 it shall be well with thee. Tliy wife shall be as a 
 fruitful vine by the sides of thine house ; thy children 
 like olive plants round about thy table. Behold that 
 thus shall the man be blessed that feareth the Lord. 
 The Lord shall bless thee out of Zion ; and thou shalt 
 see the good of Jerusalem all the days of thy life. 
 Yea, thou shalt see thy children's children, &c. The 
 blessing of the Lord, be upon you, &c." 
 
 He further alluded to the pleasure this event would 
 give to children and descendants, and be kept in remem- 
 brance, and to my position in life, and the satisfaction 
 I felt at having educated one son as a minister of the 
 Gospel, another as a medical man, and a third holding 
 the situation of magistrate ; and he closed by recapi- 
 tulating the several public situations I held within the 
 period of fifty-six years and the extra duties performed ; 
 and added eight stanzas expressive of his feelings on 
 the occasion, the time passed in our union, his wishes for 
 future welfare, blessing, and peace. He made complimen- 
 tary mention of my private and public proceedings, the 
 insignificance of riches compared to character, the 
 happiness to children in finding the latter sustained 
 by the parents ; and concluded by requesting our 
 acceptance of his best wishes for our offspring and 
 ourselves. 
 
 This was gratifying, and we expressed ourselves as 
 such to the kind-hearted author.
 
 461 
 
 It would be difficult for me to give in English verse 
 the stanzas abovementioned, but for the perusal of my 
 Dutch readers I will insert them in that language : 
 
 Leeren de gewijde bladen, 
 
 't Lot van Vorsten en Profeet, 
 Melden zij de wonderdaden 
 
 Van Hem, die vooi' 't menschdom lead ! 
 Toonen zij Gods wijze wetten, 
 
 Tot het heil van 't menschdom aan ; 
 't Spoor dat men heeft op te letten, 
 
 In den gang van 's levens baan. 
 
 Schreven wijze volk-verlichters, 
 
 Met hun bilk naar 't groote doel ! 
 Is het streven niet des dichters 
 
 Wei te trefFen het gevoel ? 
 Gaert men uit geschiedenissen 
 
 Kennis, en van volk en land, 
 Toonen zij met vergewissen 
 
 Helden zege, rang en stand ? 
 
 Hoort men hier een dengd bezingen, 
 Hoort men daar een' schellen toon ; 
 
 Toegewijd aan wisselingen 
 
 Zoo van shepter als van kroon. 
 
 Citer ! ik span uwe snaren, 
 Met een' opgeruimden geest ; 
 
 Mijn gevoel wil 'k openbaren, 
 
 Bij dit GOUDEN BRUILOFTSFEEST. 
 
 Vijftig jaren zijn vervlogen, 
 
 Als een schaduwe voorbij ; 
 Men bepeinst, is opgetogen — 
 
 Jaren, waar, ja waar bleeft gij ? • 
 
 Echter wat zijn vijftig jaren 
 
 Bij het grenzeloos gewest, 
 Waar de Christenen naar staren, 
 
 Met het oog op God gevest.
 
 462 
 
 Vijftig jaren zijn verloopen : 
 
 Soms met zorg, soms met smart j 
 En met wensehen, en met hopen, 
 
 Maar met ombezoedeld hart. 
 Vijftig jaren zyn "verdwenen. 
 
 Van uw' dierbren leTenstijd ; 
 Na dat gij u mogt vereenen, 
 
 Zoo door trouw als hartelijkheid. 
 
 Vijftig jaren is 't geleden, 
 
 Ge in den echt getreden zijt ; 
 Op een' rustdag juist als heden, 
 
 Aan den Schepper toegewijd. 
 Thans, ei zie naar alle kanten — 
 
 Kinders, nakroost om u been ; — 
 Vrienden, magen, bloedverwanten, 
 
 Storten uwenthalv' gebeen. 
 
 Zij, zij wenscben u veel jaren, 
 
 En in voorspoed, heil en vree, 
 Dat de Abnagt u blijv' sparen 
 
 Is hunne algemeene bee. 
 Dat elk uwer levensdagen, 
 
 Eene lieilbron voor u zij, 
 U Gods gunst blijv' onderschragen, 
 
 Is de wensch van vrienden-rei. 
 
 Wie zal niet met ons besefFen, 
 
 Niet gevoelen zoo als wij ? 
 Welks hart voelt zich niet treffen, 
 
 Wie in onze maatschappy 
 Die niet kent de hooge waarde, 
 
 Van u, Sieraad van u land ; 
 Die steeds regt aan oordeel paarde. 
 
 In zijn hoog verheven stand : 
 
 Wat zijn schatten, wat zijn troonen ? 
 
 IJdelheen die dra vergaan j 
 't Schoonste erfdeel voor zonen. 
 
 Is 's vaders dewgden na te gaan. 
 
 I
 
 463 
 
 Ja te volgen uwe stappen, 
 
 En met doorzigt en beleid ; 
 Oefenaar van wetenschappen, 
 
 Themis tempel toegewijd. 
 
 Wil dees regelen ontvangen, 
 
 Zij zijn werkelijk gemeend ; 
 Dit is mijn opregt verlangen — 
 
 Waar 't hart zich bij vereend. 
 Zie uw huis in vrede bloeijen, 
 
 En in zielsgenot en min, 
 't Nakroost welig om u groeijen, 
 
 Heil — UzELv' en Echtvriendin. 
 
 The children and a few other friends dined with us, 
 and we enjoyed with grateful hearts the blessings 
 bestowed by Providence, and the cordial congratula- 
 tions and best wishes of those about us. 
 
 On Tuesday, the 6th, subsequently, children, grand 
 and great-grand-children, and those connected by mar- 
 riage, together with our relatives and friends — in 
 number one hundred and twelve — assembled at Bellevue 
 to celebrate the golden wedding-day, and to share 
 (whilst offering us their best wishes) in the happiness 
 we enjoyed. I have preserved a list of those present 
 amongst my papers. The relatives numbered eight 
 children, twelve grand-children, four great-grand- 
 children, six children-in-law, three sisters, one brother, 
 one sister-in-law, thirty-seven nephews, nieces, and 
 cousins (and there were some absent), second son and 
 his wife and six children, and another son, James, and his 
 wife and two children, two grand-children, three great- 
 grand-children. In all the number of our descendants 
 and relatives thus amounted to eighty-nine.
 
 464 
 
 Before dinner our youngest and twelfth son, Charles 
 Robinson Borcherds, and his bride, Miss Elizabeth 
 Adamina Brink, presented us with a silver gilt cup and 
 salver, with an inscription in Dutch, of which the fol- 
 lowing is a translation : "In commemoration of the 
 fiftieth anniversary of the marriage-day of Petrus Bor- 
 chardus Borcherds and Janetta Johanna Blanckenberg, 
 celebrated at Wynberg, 4th May, 1856, Cape of Good 
 Hope." 
 
 This was to us particularly gratifying. He was the 
 Benjamin of the family ; and we considered it a most 
 happy occurrence, that, under the prospect of being 
 soon united himself, we should have been spared to 
 receive such a token of filial love and respect from his 
 hands. We naturally wished that in copying our example 
 he might soon feel as gratified as we did at the moment ; 
 and reciprocal feelings of love and good wishes were 
 expressed, — for except him all our children were married. 
 
 In order that the children should possess a token so 
 as to keep in remembrance this event (and that their 
 descendants in time to come mio-ht know that such a 
 day had been celebrated by their ancestors), I had 
 silver medals made and distributed amongst them, in- 
 scribed the same as the silver cup abovementioned, and 
 these were most thankfully accepted. I hope that, in 
 God's mercy, they may long be spared, so that by looking 
 at that token of our love, to keep in remembrance how 
 gracious the Father in heaven had been to their parents. 
 
 We were highly pleased to find among our guests the 
 Reverends Abraham Faure, senior, minister of the Dutch 
 Reformed Church in Cape Town, and Doctor Philip 
 Edward Faure, the respected minister of Wynberg, —
 
 465 
 
 for it was in their father's home, as before stated, that 
 our connexion was formed, and the first day of our union 
 commenced, — so that their presence to us was very 
 gratifying. 
 
 The table which our children had laid out was taste- 
 fully decorated ; and no trouble had been spared to show 
 how deeply they felt the occasion. There was an abun- 
 dance of the animal and vegetable kingdom of every 
 variety that the season could produce, intermixed with 
 dainties prepared and shaped by the fanciful cook. And 
 cakes, as they are usually ornamented for nuptial festivals, 
 appeared in the best arrangement. In fact, were it not that 
 Age dictated that these were rather out of place, we might 
 have fancied ourselves a young married couple again. 
 
 Several specimens of fruit adorned the table, — some 
 were really exquisite, considering the season, — and 
 wedding favours were also - distributed by the eldest 
 grandchildren, who were substituted to figure as brides- 
 maids and " bestmen !" 
 
 Amongst the ornaments at table was the Silver Cup 
 presented to my dear father by his congregation at 
 Stellenbosch, in 1826. This imperceptibly drew my 
 thoughts to him by whom we were so solemnly united, 
 and the occurrences on the occasion at the parental 
 home. Whilst pleasantly reflecting on these matters 
 4;he recollection of the departed, however, created 
 sorrowful feelings, and for a moment clouded the joyous 
 sensations experienced during the events of the day. 
 The inscription on the Cup may be seen by reference 
 to the first section. 
 
 When our guests had concluded the repast, the Rev. 
 Abraham Faure addressed us with the feeling which is 
 
 2 H
 
 466 
 
 so peculiar to him when expounding the Scriptures to 
 his flock. He seemed as if impressed by his relation- 
 ship, both as the Christian brother and family friend. 
 I felt deeply overpowered by his comments, so much 
 so that in endeavouring to recollect them found that 
 merely the outlines were retained. He congratulated 
 us on the happy event, and reminded us how much 
 we were indebted for having been spared so long a 
 period in the enjoyment of health of mind and body 
 and for many advantages and benefits in life. He 
 brought to recollection the days and events passed 
 during our union, — the changes of happiness and 
 sorrow, — and the trials, the support, and relief enjoyed 
 from a higher Power under the loss of dear children, 
 relatives, and friends; and he hoped that the remainder 
 of our days would be dedicated to a preparation for the 
 approaching change from time to eternity! — and that 
 the blessing of the Most High might attend our future 
 course in life at our now far advanced age, under a 
 happy prospect of eternal blessedness, to be enjoyed 
 where separation is unknown. He recommended us 
 with much feeling to the protection of Him who had 
 thus far mercifully spared us in our earthly course, 
 praying that we might be further guided by our 
 Heavenly Father, and ultimately received by grace 
 through the mediation of the blessed Redeemer. • 
 
 This affectionate address was followed by the Rev. 
 Dr. P. E. Faure, who, poetically and with much 
 elegance, expressed liis sentiments and wishes in Dutch. 
 Oh ! that I could do justice to them by a translation ; 
 but I confess that the Muses have not thus favoured me, 
 and I will, therefore, only attempt to give the substance
 
 467 
 
 in prose, adding afterwards a copy of the original for 
 my Dutch friends. 
 
 He alluded to the happy and pure enjoyment ex- 
 perienced in the circle of friends, free from care or 
 pain whilst changes passed, — referred to the fifty years 
 spent in matrimonial union, and our having been spared 
 by the all-governing Power, amidst joys and sorrows 
 experienced under His wise dispensation, and how we 
 had been guided by a powerful Father's hand. He 
 wished that the Supreme Goodness would further watch 
 over us, so that in the days of life's winter no heavy 
 storms might approach or expose us to adversity or 
 apprehension of danger, — that, under the increase of 
 days, heaven's blessing might support us in the enjoy- 
 ment of undisturbed rest, — that the sun of prosperity 
 with golden rays might luminously spread on our off- 
 spring as the dew kissing the fields ; and as we saw the 
 silvery curls of life's cold winter covering our grey 
 heads and gliding towards its destiny, he hoped that 
 God would kindly support us, and that in the day of 
 our weakness we might lean on His almighty power, 
 and His love attend us in Christ, so that the evening 
 of our life on earth be not involved in clouds of adversity 
 or care. He then recited further : 
 
 " Your matrimonial day was long as our summer day, 
 Your eve be as such day — clear, calm, as after summer-heat, 
 There, where in the East the star of hope is glittering, 
 You have enjoyed sunshine together — and resisted the power 
 
 of heat and storm. 
 May the coolness of eve refresh you both imtil your sun 
 
 simultaneously sinks. 
 And then, I would wish you, — Where ? 
 There, — Where they neither marry nor are given in marriage 
 
 but are as the angels of God in Heaven," 
 
 2 H 2
 
 468 
 
 I feel that the beauty has been lost by the attempt 
 at translation, but I think the substance has been 
 preserved. 
 
 AAN DE JUBILANTEN, 
 
 Wynberq, den 6den Mei, 1856. 
 
 By de Gouden Bruiloft van Oom en Tante Borcherds, den 4 
 
 Mei, 1856. 
 
 Hoe zalig is het rein genoegen 
 Oraringd door dezen vriendenkring, 
 Dat Gij thans, zonder zorg of wroegen, 
 Geniet, na zoo veel wisseling ! 
 Zoo rolden 50 huwelijksjaren. 
 Die 't Albestuur u wilde sparen 
 Vereenigd door den Echtenband ; 
 Zoo moogt Gij nu na vreugd en lyden, 
 U in Gods wijs bestuur verblijden, 
 Geleid door 's Hoogsten Vaderhand. 
 
 O ! mogt de Algoedlieid verder waken, 
 Dat, daar des levens winter daag' 
 Geen felle stormen U genaken, 
 Geen ramp of vrees U schrik aanjaag' 
 O ! mogt, bij 't klimmen uwer dagen, 
 Des Hemels gunst U onderschragen 
 Bij 't ongestoord genot van rust ; 
 De Zon van heil, met gulden stralen, 
 Verhelderd, op Uw nakroost dalen 
 Gelijk de dauw de velden kust. 
 
 En daar wij reeds de zilvren vlokken 
 Van 's levens kouden winter tijd, 
 Zien kroonen Uwe grijze lokken. 
 En 't leven naar den eindpaal glijdt ; 
 Dat God de Heer U ondersteune 
 Uw zwakheid op Zijne Almagt leune, 
 Zijn liefd' in Christus U omring' ! 
 Dat d' avond van Uw aardsche leven 
 Met geene wolken worden omgeven 
 Van onheil of bekommering !
 
 469 
 
 ** Uw huwlijksdag was lang, als onze zomerdagen ; 
 
 *' Uw avond zij den dag gelijk ! 
 
 *' Een heldre avond, kalm na zomerhitte, 
 
 " En waar aan 't Oost de Star der hope prijkt. 
 
 ** Te zaam liebt Gij het zonnelicht genoten, 
 " En hitte en onweerskraclit weerstaan ; 
 " Te zaam verkwikke u nog de avondkoelte, 
 ** Tot eens uw zon gelijk moge onder gaan." 
 
 En dan Waar 'k U dan wensch ? 
 Daaz' — 
 
 Waar men niet meer ten huwelijk neerat, 
 noch ten huwelijk gegeven wordt, maar 
 waar wij zijn als Engelen Gods — 
 
 In den Hemel ! 
 
 Uw heilwenschende Js'eef en Vriend, 
 
 P. E. Faure. 
 
 These addresses were delivered with great feehng 
 and Hstened to with deep interest, for they seemed to 
 have been dictated by warm hearts, and we received 
 them as such. 
 
 I attempted to respond and express our thanks, but 
 confess that I was overpowered ; and however well 
 meant or appreciated, my answer was brief, but I hope 
 suflficient to express our deep sense for the marked 
 attention. 
 
 And now they and other kind friends (my children 
 and theirs, and all relatives and guests), joined in pro- 
 posing our health, wishing that we might be spared for 
 mutual comfort, and the remainder of our days be spent 
 in peace, and our approaching termination be that of the 
 righteous, adding other expressions indicative of their 
 best feelings. Their countenances dictated happiness ;
 
 470 
 
 and the toast was cheerfully responded to, and drank 
 with enthusiasm. The day and evening were spent in 
 mirth and jollity, and real good feeling prevailed ; and 
 our friends did not leave before they had conducted 
 the old bridegroom and his bride (for this they were 
 pleased to designate us) to the bed-room. By midnight 
 they had parted, and all again was quiet and at rest, 
 leaving room for more serious thoughts and reflections ; 
 and in silence once more to offer thanks for the great 
 benefits received and the blessings enjoyed ; and to 
 recommend ourselves and those near and dear to us to 
 the care of our Father in Heaven. 
 
 It was to us most gratifying to see the arrangements 
 made by our children and friends, and the taste displayed 
 by garlands, flowers, &c., mingled with the number " fifty" 
 in perspective; and the advantage taken to extend the 
 rooms by covering in of the front and back verandahs 
 with flags and the distribution of the lights, &c., so that 
 the whole had quite a picturesque (to my partner and 
 self) and enchanting appearance. 
 
 These arrangements were chiefly made by our affec- 
 tionate daughter, Wilhelmina Hendrina Stokes, assisted 
 by her sister, Johanna Titia Eveleigh, and Marian, wife 
 of my son Richard, and by him also and the youngest 
 son, Charles Robinson. 
 
 We found the table well supplied and tastefully 
 decorated by them and some of our kind friends. The 
 choicest fruits of the season were produced, and among 
 them several contributions from Captain Blanckenberg 
 and his lady, of New Constantia, Mr. Dirk Cloete, 
 Hendrik son, and lady, of Alphen, and from an old 
 friend, Mr. JanLouw, ofSwanenwyk, at theSteenbergen.
 
 471 
 
 They sent in several specimens ol' the fruit, vege- 
 tables, and flowers grown on their estates, which might 
 have graced any exhibition as noble samples of size, 
 beauty, and flavour, and proved the fertility of the soil. 
 Finally, the whole was a day so happy, that whilst we 
 are spared it cannot be obliterated from our minds. It 
 was in truth deeply interesting to ourselves, and one 
 which will be ever kept in remembrance for the great 
 benefits received, and of our duty and warm gratitude 
 to the Great and Omnipotent Benefactor.
 
 472 
 
 SECTION XVIII. 
 
 Not very long after the happy event mentioned in the 
 former section, I observed that Mrs. Borcherds' health 
 seemed more and more failing; and on the morning of 
 Wednesday, 16th June, 1858, departed this life at 
 Bellevue, on VVynberg Hill, my beloved wife, Janetta 
 Johanna Blanckenberg, aged seventy years, one month 
 and fourteen days, after our happy union of fifty-two 
 years, one month, and twelve days. 
 
 She had been for many years more or less suffering, 
 in consequence of attacks, chiefly apoplectic. Her 
 health however, comparatively recovered, was precarious ; 
 for the powerful medicines and medical treatment 
 required to relieve her from one of the severest fits, had 
 broken the constitution and shaken (what I may almost 
 say for forty years since our union) the uninterrupted 
 state of health with which she had been blessed. Within 
 the last twelve years of her life she often rallied, so that 
 at intervals she could take gentle exercise and nourish- 
 ment, and then she was cheerful and in good spirits. 
 But these warnings prepared her mind to meet the 
 great change which now followed with the resignation 
 and hope of a Christian. Within the last week before 
 her death she appeared to become gradually weaker, so 
 that the aid of our physician. Doctor Samuel Bailey, 
 was called in, and when he saw her on Monday evening- 
 previous to the Wednesday, the day of her demise, he 
 examined her, and the indisposition appeared to him 
 slight and only requiring mild treatment, when all 
 would be right. This was the doctor's expression when 
 he left, and they parted joking.
 
 473 
 
 In the afternoon of the following day (Tuesday) she 
 sat on her sofa in the parlour and received several visits 
 from kind neighbours, but it appeared to us that her 
 speech was rather impaired, and we were inclined to 
 attribute this to the effects of the medicine taken. She 
 dined at the family table as usual, and spent the evening 
 with us at the fireside. However, during the night she 
 was restless, and towards morning when I retired, having 
 had scarcely a night's rest, my daughter, Mrs. Stokes, 
 attended her, and she enjoyed a couple of hours' rest. 
 
 On her preparing to dress for breakfast, the maid 
 who attended observed extraordinary weakness, and 
 requested my daughter to persuade her to remain in 
 bed ; but when Mrs. Stokes spoke to her no distinct 
 answer was received, and I was immediately called in. 
 My poor wife was then speechless and appeared as if 
 fainting, and with scarcely a sigh or convulsive appear 
 ance breath had escaped. I felt her pulse, it stood still, 
 and my dearly-beloved partner was no more. Scarcely 
 could I have been five minutes in the room when this 
 happened. 
 
 I had been preparing to go to town to attend a 
 meeting of the Central Road Board, so little did I 
 apprehend immediate danger, relying that as usual she 
 would rally after a little rest. About ten minutes later 
 and I should probably have left, and not witnessed the 
 death-bed and calm departure of this true and faithful 
 wife and dear mother to my children. 
 
 Although my Heavenly Father, in this dispensation, 
 had been most merciful in relieving her apparently 
 without pain or struggle, yet the event was sudden 
 and unexpected, and we were panic-struck.
 
 474 
 
 My friend our minister, the Reverend Doctor P. E. 
 Faure, for whom I had sent when I apprehended dan- 
 ger, attended immediately, and supported me under the 
 grief and loss, by his consolation and kindness to make 
 all the arrangements required for the burial ; and my 
 mind received much comfort and relief, and his lady 
 Mrs. Faure (our niece) also remained during that day 
 with my beloved and much-afflicted daughter. 
 
 However desirous to bow to the will of the Great 
 Disposer of life and death, and to submit to it with 
 christian resignation, and to keep in mind that we had 
 received many blessings, and been spared longer than 
 thousands of partners in matrimonial life, yet I could 
 not help feeling a vacancy and the severity of the loss 
 of her who (especially since my retirement from office) 
 had become more and more a' daily companion ; nor 
 could I refrain giving way to those feelings which 
 human nature commends, and no reason can adequately 
 conquer. For the knot which had been tied for up- 
 wards of half a century was sundered rapidly at the 
 close, but not without leaving painful sensations, and a 
 wound such as can only be healed by time and the 
 interposition of that Power which inflicts sorrow for 
 the benefit of His creatures, yet under the conviction 
 that the time cannot be far distant when, by the mercy 
 of our blessed Redeemer, we may meet again in the 
 happier regions of eternal bliss. 
 
 On Friday, the 18th, in the afternoon, the remains of 
 the departed were conveyed to the grave, which, under 
 the supervision of Doctor Faure, had been prepared in 
 the burial-ground of the Dutch Reformed Church at 
 Wynberg. The funeral was attended by many relatives
 
 475 
 
 and friends both from town, this place, and environs; 
 and when the coffin had Been lowered and deposited 
 in the tomb, Doctor Faure had the first verse of the 
 182d of our evangelical hymns sung, and addressed in 
 Dutch those assembled most feelingly and impressively 
 on mortality, the uncertainty of life, and our duty to 
 prepare for the awful event which sooner or later 
 awaited us, when death shall also call us to leave the 
 world and all near and dear to us. He also observed : 
 " Even the grave itself is the comforter of the weeping 
 Christian, for with an eye on it he joyfully raises his 
 voice and sings, — Resting-place of virtues' warfare. May, 
 by faith in Jesus Christ our Lord, the grave be thus to 
 you, deeply afflicted aged friend, who justly mourns for 
 a faithful spouse who accompanied you on your journey 
 through life for upwards of half a century, who shared 
 with you during this long period both pleasure and 
 pain, who was to you such a faithful partner and to 
 your offspring such an affectionate mother. The Lord 
 be your comforter, and meet you with His presence and 
 favour under the great loss you suffer at present. May 
 He be the support of 3^our old age, and the rock of 
 your trust for ever and ever. 
 
 " Bemoan freely a dear mother, children and descen- 
 dants of her whose remains will now be returned to 
 dust. But be it at the same time your cordial prayer 
 that the loss of your lamented mother may be profitable 
 to your adoption as children of your Father in Heaven." 
 
 An impressive prayer closed the solemn scene, and 
 I returned home with the children present, namely, my 
 sons Allen Richard, Charles Robinson, and son-in-law 
 William Smith, to meet my daughters Maria Smith and
 
 476 
 
 the Widow Stokes, and other relatives, and to give vent 
 to those feelings of sorrow which the departed so richly 
 deserved, and which could not be restrained. Thus closed 
 this day of painful affliction, and we received consolation 
 by the soothing affection with which our friend Doctor 
 Faure and others present sympathized in our grief. 
 
 The place of rest has since been covered with a 
 tombstone inscribed with her name, &c., so as to mark 
 the spot. 
 
 This solemn event and serious warning to prepare 
 also for departure, led me to determine to arrange my 
 worldly matters, so that the remainder of my pilgrimage 
 might not (if possible) be troubled with pecuniary 
 cares, and that those whom I should leave behind could 
 receive my estate unincumbered, and have no trouble in 
 arranging and finally closing the same ; so I resolved to 
 commence by selling off Bellevue and furniture, and 
 this sale was effected on the 2d September, 1858.
 
 477 
 
 SECTION XIX. 
 TRIBUTE OF GRATITUDE. 
 
 As this section may probably be the last of my 
 memoirs, I am about offering my thanks to my parents 
 and those kind friends and gentlemen who have guided 
 and promoted my interest and welfare both in public 
 and private life, and contributed to my comfort and 
 prosperity. 
 
 1. My dear and beloved Father I — To him 
 I am indebted for the fundamental principles with 
 regard to religion and education imparted to my mind, 
 when under his guidance in the days of youth. His 
 example, precepts, and doctrine as a minister of the 
 Gospel, and as a tender parent at the head of a numerous 
 family of children, I still keep most gratefully in 
 remembrance and deep reverence. He opened to me 
 the volume of Revelation, Peace and Grace, and drew 
 my attention to the book of nature. He pointed to the 
 heavenly bodies and traced their regular and majestic 
 course, when we were sometimes in retirement, and often 
 at that dear spot " the Summer-house," at the bottom of 
 his garden behind the house "La Gratitude" at Stellen- 
 bosch ; and taught me to fix my hope and trust for the 
 future on Him who governs the universe and provides 
 for all as a benevolent Father ; and he fixed my 
 ultimate view to the distant prospect of eternal life by 
 the redeeming power of our great Mediator ! He 
 confirmed me ultimately (before 1 left his home and the 
 paternal roof) as a member of the Dutch Reformed 
 Church, and gave his blessing to my matrimonial union. 
 By his lessons in Latin and other useful branches of
 
 478 
 
 knowledge, he prepared me for an intended professional 
 career ; and when even that was changed into the civil 
 service of this colony, I found that I owed much to his 
 tuition and tender care in the progress of my public and 
 private life, and 
 
 To MY DEAR AND BELOVED MoTHER. — She was affec- 
 tionate and kind, and of a mild and cheerful disposition. 
 The lessons she gave were always tenderly imparted ; 
 and to the care taken of my health and comforts as a 
 child I attribute my present healthy constitution. A 
 warm heart and a ready helping hand were always at 
 her command to serve and distribute succour, happiness, 
 and contentment. In fact, she was rehgiously guided, 
 by a true christian spirit, and a tender maternal love and 
 disposition. 
 
 BLESSED BE THEIR MEMORY ! 
 
 2. Mr. George Knoop, the parish clerk and 
 schoolmaster, from whom I received the first lessons in 
 reading, writing, and arithmetic. His attention and 
 kindness I cannot forget. He was an ornament to the 
 village school, and his name is mentioned before in this 
 memoir. 
 
 3. The Reverend Doctor Dolling. — He kindly 
 admitted me (whilst residing in our family) amongst his 
 distinguished disciples, and gave me elementary instruc- 
 tion in the English language when a boy; this, both with 
 regard to the rudiments and pronunciation, has been to 
 me in after-life of the greatest service ; and I was thus 
 particularly fortunate, for in those days it was a matter 
 of great difficulty to obtain at the village, and even in 
 Cape Town, any instruction in that language. In one 
 of the preceding sections he is also named.
 
 479 
 
 4. Mr. Johannes Wege, who was secretary to 
 the board of Landdrost and Heemraden at Stellenbosch. 
 This gentleman kindly allowed me to frequent his office, 
 and I joined it in 1799. It gave me an early oppor- 
 tunity of acquiring a knowledge of the routine of office 
 duties connected with that then very extensive drostdy 
 (now called division), including at that time Paarl, 
 Caledon, Worcester, Tulbagh, Clanwilliam, Beaufort, 
 Malmesbury, and part of Cape divisions, and others up 
 to the border of the colony. I had also access to the 
 records and judicial proceedings of the board ; and as 
 the secretary in those days was the only notary public 
 in that division, I had an opportunity of learning some- 
 thing of notarial practice ; in fact, that office was 
 just calculated to give to a young beginner in the civil 
 service some useful practical preparation and knowledge ; 
 and I cannot help thinking that to young men destined 
 for the service such preparatory instruction would be 
 of the greatest use, especially in the comitry districts. 
 He was very kind, and treated me with great care, as 
 much almost as any relative could have done, and took 
 much interest in my proceedings. When I was about to 
 be promoted, I obtained from him favourable testimonials 
 expressive of his opinion when serving under him, 
 
 5. Petrus Johannes Truter, Senior, Esquire. 
 — This was the hospitable gentleman who had been so 
 kind to my father when he arrived in this colony, and 
 he was also to me a true friend. His correctness and 
 propriety of conduct, and methodical mode in conducting 
 business, industry, and accuracy, were generally admit- 
 ted. He held a membership in the Court of Justice 
 for many years. In the Dutch Reformed Church he
 
 480 
 
 was an elder, and afterwards political commissioner, and 
 fond of bookkeeping on a large scale, and had excelled 
 here in that branch when employed in the great 
 mercantile office of the East India Company. He was 
 once selected to conduct a trade on behalf of that 
 company with Madagascar, and under the Batavian 
 Government to examine and correct the public registry 
 of bonds, &c. Early rising was a maxim he strongly 
 recommended, and exemplified by his own observance. 
 
 To be under the guidance of such a friend was to 
 me, as a rising youth, of no small advantage ; and good 
 fortune gave me the opportunity of working under him 
 for one year of my life. 
 
 He was the gentleman who was appointed chief 
 commissioner to the government expedition to explore 
 Central Africa, &c., and to open a trade with the 
 aborigines as before mentioned, and recommended me 
 as assistant secretary, thereby giving me the opportunity 
 of getting acquainted not only with the interior of the 
 colony but also the country beyond the border (as 
 described in former sections), and also some insight into 
 bookkeeping and accounts, besides noting the journal 
 of daily occurrenses on our travels under his own eye. 
 This appointment proved likewise of further advan- 
 tage by getting me acquainted with the second 
 commissioner, 
 
 6. Doctor William Somerville, who was inspector 
 of hospitals and considered a clever medical and 
 scientific gentleman. He had the kindness to instruct 
 me further in the English language, and daily I 
 enjoyed his conversation and tuition, not confined to 
 language only, but extending to subjects connected with 
 
 i
 
 481 
 
 science, and other useful matters, such as natural history, 
 anatomy, &c., during our travels. To both these gentle- 
 men I therefore owe much, for their guidance has been 
 to me in after-life of the utmost service. One of the 
 most pleasing circumstances was, that it incidentally 
 introduced me also to the secretary of the expedition, 
 
 7. Mr. Samuel Daniel. — He was an expert and 
 skilful draftsman, and when he made his sketches I 
 usually accompanied him, and thus saw the animals 
 which he drew, and assisted in measuring them, so that 
 he afterwards, on his arrival in England, had an oppor- 
 tunity of having his drawings engraved and printed, 
 representing the scenery, natives, and animals of South 
 Africa, coloured. The edition of the plates was splendid 
 and in folio. The engravings were much admired, and 
 exact representations. 
 
 This gentleman was of a most cheerful and humorous 
 disposition. He created much amusement amongst us, 
 and we passed many pleasant moments; and thus he 
 proved an excellent companion. 
 
 This employment ended by receiving a satisfactory 
 testimonial of my services ; and my journal attracted the 
 notice of the late Sir John Barrow, who appended some 
 parts thereof to his volume of A Voyage to Cochin 
 China. 
 
 8. Mr. Lambert Christiaan Hendrik Shubberg, 
 LL.D. — He arrived in 1803, and held the appointment 
 of President of the Batavian Court of Justice in the 
 colony until it surrendered in 1806. 
 
 I owe to his kindness my first appointment of the 
 Batavian Government before mentioned. He was always 
 friendly and well disposed, and took an interest in my 
 
 2 I
 
 482 
 
 progress. Even now I have a book (A Compendium 
 of the Civil and Criminal Law of Holland^ which he 
 gave me as a present, and recommended me to study. 
 He was brother-in-law to Commissary General de Mist. 
 
 9. Mr. Daniel Denyssen, LL.D. — When I entered 
 the above office in March, 1803, he was acting Secretary 
 of the Court of Justice, and to his indulgence and guid- 
 ance in this (at first to me) novel position I owe much. 
 He gave me many an opportunity of improving and 
 getting acquainted with my duties, and, I may say, laid 
 the foundation of extending my legal knowledge. In 
 1813 we became more closely and intimately connected, 
 when I was appointed as Deputy Fiscal, and acted under 
 and with him for about ten years. Both from him 
 personally, and in his family circle, I received with mine 
 much friendly intercourse and many marks of attention 
 and courtesy. 
 
 10. Mr. Gerrit Buyskes, LL.D. — I had the honour 
 of serving under him when he arrived as Secretary of 
 the Court of Justice appointed in Holland, and I am 
 bound to say that no superior could have been more 
 friendly inclined and courteous than this gentleman. I 
 soon became a familiar friend in his family circle, in 
 which I enjoyed many a social hour, and he employed 
 me so that I could acquire more extensive knowledge 
 of judicial duties. He was a great freemason, and 
 introduced me to the brotherhood, and I was accepted 
 when he was grand master of the lodge the Goede 
 Hoop. 
 
 Such was the good feeling towards me, that after the 
 surrender of the colony, he having entered into practice 
 as WW advocate and notary, allowed me in the evening,
 
 483 
 
 (in order to qualiiy myself for notarial practice) to keep 
 the protocol and register of deeds, and this gave me an 
 opportunity of qualifying myself, in case it should be 
 my good fortune to be once appointed as a secretary 
 and notary to one of the country districts ; and his 
 certificate, when I afterwards applied for that situation 
 at Stellenbosch, was of great service to me. 
 
 11, The next gentleman with whom I came in official 
 contact was Mr. Gerard Beelaerts van Blokland, 
 LL.D. He had been originally appointed in Holland 
 as Procureur Generaal (Attorney-General) of the colony, 
 and acted as such under the Batavian Government. 
 
 Since the surrender of the colony he accepted the 
 office of Secretary to the Court of Justice, and I served 
 under him till 1 809. My chief duty was entering the 
 records and sentences, and registering the cases civil and 
 criminal, besides extra duties out of office hours, in 
 which he was pleased to employ me in his private office, 
 so that thereby he also gave me an opportunity for 
 improvement. 
 
 In his family I was received as a friend, and his being 
 fond of literature and possessing a most happy memory 
 rendered his conversation very instructive, and with 
 him and his amiable and intelligent lady, I spent many 
 a social hour. Scarcely do I recollect to have met one 
 in any society, whose narratives of occurrences read 
 were given in such minute detail ; and with such accu- 
 racy, that one fancied he was actually hearing the reading 
 thereof. 
 
 In his amicable advice he was always open and candid ; 
 and his abilities and legal talent were such, that after 
 retiring from the office he held here he was on his 
 
 2 I 2
 
 484 
 
 arrival in Holland, employed first in the judicial line 
 and afterwards as minister of finance, and, I believe, 
 member of the States-General. 
 
 I received by his recommendation, promotion in the 
 office, and afterwards also in some degree to the secre- 
 taryship of Stellenbosch. 
 
 12. Accidentally going one morning to oflfice I met 
 the Receiver-General, Mr. Francis Dashwood. He 
 had lived at Stellenbosch, when I was a yonth, for the 
 benefit of his health, and was in the habit of visiting our 
 family, and sometimes saw me busy with my lessons 
 repeating them to my father. This otherwise insigni- 
 ficant circumstance attracted his notice, and seems to 
 have been kept in remembrance. He kindly inquired 
 what my prospects were, and circumstances in life, and 
 I opened them frankly to him, and when he learned that 
 I had chosen and fixed on the civil service in the colony 
 he advised me to persevere, and oflfered to render any 
 service in his power to promote my object ; and I am 
 under the impression that this trifling event laid 
 the ground-work for my further promotion in the 
 service. 
 
 Soon after this conversation the secretaryship of 
 Stellenbosch became vacant. I communicated this to 
 my old friend, and he kindly drafted my memorial and 
 promised to support it. And I believe that through 
 his recommendation and that of the Colonial Secretary, 
 Mr. Alexander, and the testimonials of my secretary 
 and former superior, Mr. G. Buyskes, as to my progress 
 in notarial practice, that I succeeded in obtaining the 
 appointment by Lord Caledon to that office in 1809, 
 as before stated. My thanks are due to His Lordship, 
 
 i
 
 485 
 
 for it was one of the greatest and longest steps on the 
 ladder of my promotions. 
 
 13. Sir John Francis Cradock, Governor of 
 THIS Colony. — In the beginning of 1813, the then 
 Landdrost of Stellenbosch, Mr. Watze Sibius van 
 Andringa, communicated to me that His Excellency 
 contemplated appointing me as Deputy Fiscal in Cape 
 Town in the room of Mr. D. F. Berrange, who was to 
 be promoted as Secretary to the Court of Justice ; and 
 I am under the belief that I was recommended for this 
 situation by the Chief Justice, the late Sir John Truter, 
 and my former Secretary, Mr. Beelaerts van Blokland, 
 and I accepted the promotion. This brought me back 
 to my old superior, Mr. Daniel Denyssen, then His 
 Majesty's Attorney-General. Consecutive services of 
 ten years under him created greater intimacy ; and as 
 a proof of his satisfaction with my duties, he made me 
 once a donation of £75. He also is mentioned before. 
 
 Sir John and Lady Theodosia Cradock were hand- 
 some in appearance, and in manners exceedingly 
 courteous. Her ladyship's amiable reception in the 
 drawing-room, and the many invitations given to us 
 to Government House, leave even now a pleasant 
 recollection. 
 
 14. Sir John Andreas Truter, Knight, late 
 Chief Justice. — He was a man mild in disposition 
 and gentlemanly in manners, and his figure commanded 
 respect. He was born here, and his education in early 
 days was confined to the colony ; and he often related 
 to me how he strove and obtained with difficulty some 
 knowledge of the Latin language. However, his diligence 
 and perseverance attracted notice, and a subscription
 
 486 
 
 was raised for his pursuing his studies in Europe, and 
 he left Africa, I believe, when he was twenty-three years 
 of age. He so distinguished himself at the university 
 that he attracted much notice, and had several applica- 
 tions (after being graduated as advocate) to join the bar 
 before the High Court in Holland. However, with love 
 for his country, and having a desire to be of service to 
 his native land, he returned; and in 1790, I find from 
 the public records that he was already appointed as 
 Deputy Fiscal, and he subsequently held the situations 
 of Secretary to the Court of Justice, Secretary to the 
 Court of Policy, Fiscal or Attorney-General, Political 
 Church Commissioner, and ultimately Chief Justice of the 
 Colony, and knighted. When the old court was abo- 
 lished and the Supreme Court introduced he received 
 a pension and enjoyed it to his demise. He died as a 
 Christian, calm and resigned, and in the full hope of 
 receiving mercy by the mediation of his Redeemer. 
 
 In him I found a kind, warm-hearted friend. When as 
 Deputy Fiscal my health was suffering under the 
 laborious and incessant duties of office, he took me to 
 his country seat at Klyn River, in Caledon district, and 
 I experienced there every attention from himself and 
 lady ; and on my return found my health improved. 
 With gratitude I still recollect this friendly act. 
 
 His advice was always readily given, and valuable 
 to me in my position ; for he was considered an eminent 
 lawyer. He had an enlightened mind, and possessed 
 great calmness and command of temper ; in fact, he 
 was a valuable guide, and with him I conversed and 
 communicated on the most friendly and confidential 
 terms.
 
 487 
 
 I ascribe the coiTimeiicement of that intercourse to 
 my appointment, when Deputy Fiscal, as secretary of a 
 commission of inquiry of which he was the chairman, 
 when I drew his attention, and my manner of recording 
 the proceedings was observed. And it became closer 
 when, as member of a committee to frame a general 
 placard for the colony, he was the president, and I 
 laboured under his more immediate eye. And when I 
 undertook to translate Van der Linden's criminal code 
 for the information of the number of strano-ers who had 
 settled in the colony and for general use, he kindly 
 lent me his assistance ; and I attribute my promotion as 
 member of the Court of Justice and being raised to the 
 bench to his recommendation. 
 
 Finally, I became an intimate friend, and his hospitable 
 house and table were at all times open to me. No 
 father could have taken niore interest in my welfare 
 than this kindhearted gentleman ; and his opinion of 
 my services is expressed in that testimonial to which I 
 have before alluded. With gratitude, therefore, I keep 
 this noble man in remembrance. Honoured and 
 revered be his name to me and mine ! 
 
 15. Lord Charles Henry Somerset, Governor of 
 THIS Colony, — This nobleman noticed me particularly. 
 He was once pleased to offer me to be Sequestrator (an 
 office now held by the Master of the Supreme Court), 
 but averse to pecuniary responsibilities I preferred 
 retaining my office as Deputy Fiscal. His Excellency 
 also, about three years previous to my promotion, wished 
 me to take a membership in the Court of Justice, but 
 the important situation of a judge appeared to me also 
 -so responsible, at that period, that I declined ; when I
 
 488 
 
 had finished my translation of Van der Linden's code, 
 he placed the Government press at my disposal, and a 
 great part of that work had been printed when Mr. 
 Henry's translation of the whole treatise arrived in the 
 colony, and I found that mine was not necessary, and 
 hence it was not completed for publication. 
 
 On several occasions His Excellency was kind and 
 attentive to myself and family. 
 
 16. Lieutenant-Colonel Christopher Bird, the 
 Colonial Secretary. — From this gentleman I also 
 received instances of favourable consideration and an 
 inclination to forward my views. At one time he seemed 
 disposed to see me chief clerk in the Colonial Office, on 
 another occasion he offered me to be Landdrost of 
 Swellendam ; but I preferred the office I then occupied, 
 partly because I considered the judicial line, being the 
 one I had been employed in for so many years, prefera- 
 ble, without pecuniary responsibility, and partly because 
 my family could there not have such means of education 
 as in town. 
 
 The conflict of duties in my office between the 
 public prosecutor's and police department, and the 
 detention in court to the detriment of the expedition 
 required in the daily occurring police cases, led me to 
 represent to the Secretary the advantage to the public 
 of a separation of the prosecutor's duties from those of 
 the police. He saw the necessity clearly, and an advo- 
 cate was appointed as Second Deputy Fiscal, to attend 
 in court to conduct the preliminary examinations and 
 prosecutions in criminal cases, and this placed me 
 exactly in the position of the present Superintendent of 
 Police, and thereby the daily occurring cases were
 
 489 
 
 considerably expedited, and I was consequently relieved 
 of duties in court. 
 
 Another act of justice I experienced, namely, for- 
 warding my memorial for increase of salary with his 
 favourable recommendation, so that I obtained from 
 home an addition as before mentioned. In personal 
 intercourse I was met with civility, and when advice 
 was required he gave it always readily and with 
 candour. 
 
 17. The Colonial Secretary, Mr. Alexander. — 
 I cannot fail to remember gratefully how this kind- 
 hearted gentleman recommended my promotion on all 
 occasions in his power, and the liberal hospitality and 
 urbanity of his manners, in which, with many other 
 contemporaries, I had the honour to share. 
 
 18. Sir Richard Bourke, K. C.B., Lieutenant- 
 Governor. — It was during the absence of Lord Charles 
 H. Somerset that he acted as Governor. The Commis- 
 sioners of Inquiry, Messrs. Bigge, Colebroke, and Blair, 
 were present at the same time in discharge of their 
 commissions and duties. 
 
 Sir Richard Flasket was then Colonial Secretary, 
 and my old friend, Mr. Dashwood, introduced me to 
 that gentleman, who further brought me under the 
 notice of the Lieutenant-Governor. 
 
 The period during his government was one to me of 
 the deepest interest ; and I had attracted the notice of the 
 Commissioners of Inquiry. My brother judge, Mr. P. 
 J. Truter, and myself on circuit in 1823 had to defend 
 ourselves on certain charges made against our proceed- 
 ings at Graham's Town. These were closely scrutinized 
 and terminated to our satisfaction.
 
 490 
 
 The commissioners attended from time to time the 
 Court of Justice, and there had an opportunity of 
 observing me as judge. They extended their exami- 
 nations to the aboriginal tribes beyond the colony ; and 
 my former travels and researches of the colonial records 
 enabled me to furnish "notes for reference," as printed 
 and annexed to the report of the commissioners on the 
 native tribes. These and other public proceedings did 
 not escape Sir Richard Bourke's observation, and 
 served to lay the foundation of a most cordial inter- 
 course, so that I was often a guest at his family table 
 and country residence, and our relation continued 
 uninterrupted until he left the colony ; and vs^hen I saw^ 
 him on board the vessel w^ith which he departed, his 
 last w^ords and expressions of feeling showed evidently 
 that I had lost a valuable friend, and the colony a gov- 
 ernor attached to its welfare. Subsequent to his 
 Honour's arrival at home, he sent me his original like- 
 ness as a keepsake; and his private correspondence 
 since proved that I was not mistaken in considering 
 him a true friend. 
 
 He appointed me in 1825 a permanent Sitting Com- 
 missioner of the Court of Justice, for daily disposal of 
 police and criminal cases, retaining my seat as member 
 of the court, and raised my salary to £500. By his 
 recommendation I received my appointment as Judge of 
 PoKce in 1828, and he fixed my salary at £800 per 
 annum. He added to that appointment the one of 
 Resident Magistrate of Cape Town and District, and 
 Cape District, including others already mentioned. 
 
 His Honour being considered a good classical scholar 
 and literary character, and besides an experienced
 
 491 
 
 magistrate and soldier, I derived great benefit from his 
 social intercourse ; and never can I forget the attention 
 received both from Sir Richard and Lady Bourke and 
 family by Mrs. Borcherds and myself 
 
 19. Sir Benjamin D'Urban. — To this Governor I 
 was introduced in 1834 by the acting Governor, Colonel 
 Wade, who had succeeded Sir Lowry Cole. 
 
 Shortly after His Excellency's arrival he communi- 
 cated to me in an interview, with a feeling of regret, 
 that my salary was for the future to be reduced to £500, 
 under orders received from the Home Government. 
 He felt the hardship of my case and took a deep interest 
 in the matter ; he oifered my retirement on a pension, 
 but I continued in the service as before stated, and his 
 representations on my behalf I will not repeat. His 
 urbanity of manners, his friendly disposition, his noble 
 mind in matters relating to tlie public welfare, his care and 
 anxiety to procure me relief, and the social intercourse 
 with himself and Lady D'Urban left on my mind 
 a deep impression; and I feel that gratitude is 
 due to the memory of a gentleman who felt for me 
 as a warm-hearted friend up to the moment of his 
 departure. His testimonials left on record speak his 
 sentiments. 
 
 20. Sir George Napier. — To this Governor I feel 
 thankful for the interest he also took in my case to 
 obtain an increase to my reduced salary and promotion. 
 He expressed himself favourably regarding my claim 
 and services in a despatch dated 15th March, 1844, and 
 a testimonial of the 31st following. In our intercourse 
 His Excellency was always friendly, and appeared well 
 disposed.
 
 492 
 
 21. Sir Harry Smith, the Governor. — To his 
 Excellency I had been known in my official capacity for 
 many years before his appointment, and I owe obli- 
 gations for his constantly kind and courteous treatment, 
 and particularly for his favourable opinion in the minutes 
 which he left, on the 3rd May, 1848, on record in the 
 Colonial Office, with regard to my services, on my 
 application for adding the house-rent to my salary. 
 
 22. His Honour Charles Henry Darling, Esq., 
 THE Lieutenant-Governor. — It was to him that I 
 opened my case and suffering under the severe reduction 
 of my salary. He received it, convinced of the justice 
 of my claim, with proper feeling. During his adminis- 
 tration I was treated with civility and attention ; and on 
 his leaving the colony he presented me with his portrait, 
 with assurances of esteem. 
 
 Under his administration I was appointed as chair- 
 man of Commissioners of Inquiry on charges made in 
 1852 against the Superintendent-Surgeon at Robben 
 Island, and received his letter of thanks. He also 
 expressed his favourable opinion of my conduct as 
 chairman of the committee of the Kafir War Voluntary 
 Contribution Fund, raised in 1852. He forwarded to 
 the Secretary of State my memorial, representing the 
 case with favourable considerations, and recommended 
 me as chairman of the Central Road Board to the 
 Governor, Sir George Cathcart, who appointed me by 
 proclamation in 1853. He received the address of the 
 Legislative Council and House of Assembly in 1854 to 
 bring my services to the notice of Her Majesty's Gov- 
 ernment, and returned a favourable message. He 
 forwarded my memorial for redress to the Secretary of
 
 493 
 
 State m 1854, and appeared to feel that my case 
 deserved favourable consideration. 
 
 23. Sir George Grey, K.C.B. — This Governor had 
 the kindness in May, 1855, with reference to the 
 address of the House of Assembly and despatches of 
 Lieutenant-Governor Darling regarding my case, to call 
 the attention of the Assembly to the subject, and for 
 reasons therein stated, proposing to decide in what 
 manner and to what extent my claims should be met, 
 assuring the Assembly that he would be happy to con- 
 cur with Parliament in doing that which might be 
 thought just and right in the case. 
 
 This proposal was graciously met by the House of 
 Assembly on the 5th May, 1855, by the grant of 
 £2,000. His Excellency's message to the address was 
 favourable, and by Government letter of 9th June, 1855, 
 this sum was placed at my disposal, as above stated ; and 
 he kindly expressed that it had afforded him much 
 pleasure to recommend and sanction the act of the two 
 Houses ; and alluded to the mark of distinction and 
 reward of my services, and congratulated me as the 
 first officer to receive it from the newly-constituted 
 Parliament in this colony. 
 
 Sir George further appointed me to act as Judo:e and 
 Superintendent of Police in March, 1 855, and I con- 
 tinued to act until May, 1856, when in a letter of the 
 29th of that month the Colonial Secretary, the Honour- 
 able Mr. Rawson W. Rawson, conveyed to me the 
 Governor s high appreciation of the zeal and efficiency 
 with which I had discharged these duties. 
 
 Besides these public acts, I have been favoured 
 with many private instances of kindness, which
 
 494 
 
 I cannot remember without a feeling of obligation 
 and oTatitude. 
 
 24. Amongst those who showed good feeling I can- 
 not omit to mention Sir John Bell, Secretary to 
 Government under the Bourke, D'Urban, Cole, Napier, 
 and Smith administrations. In our official intercourse 
 he was always civil, open, and candid, and ready to meet 
 my representations, and if my pecuniary losses could 
 have been redressed by his exertions I feel confident that 
 he would have done all in his power to meet my anxiety. 
 He was particularly kind to my son-in-law, Mr. William 
 Smith, when chief clerk under him in the Colonial Office. 
 
 25. The Attorney-General, the Honourable 
 William Porter, Esquire. — This gentleman has, since 
 his arrival in the colony in 1839, been one of my official 
 friends, and we always met on amicable terms. His 
 communications were kind, and his advice on legal and 
 other points to me valuable. I found him always ready 
 to aid both in public matters and as a private friend. I 
 received at his hands and hospitable board many acts 
 which will be ever kept in remembrance ; and his 
 opinions of my services are amply expressed in a 
 testimonial of 1852 before mentioned, and in his address 
 when a piece of plate was presented by him in name of 
 the subscribers on my retirement in 1857. 
 
 26. Sir John Wylde, Knight, our late Chief 
 Justice. — It was under his Honour that, in 1828, I 
 commenced my services when the new administration 
 of justice was introduced by royal charter. The novelty 
 of the system, and new rules adopted, caused me to 
 apply several times for guidance. The receptions were 
 courteous and my applications readily attended to. And
 
 495 
 
 in the cases of appeal from my court to the Supreme 
 (even when we differed in opinions) have had with me 
 due weight ; and the expounding of the law on these 
 occasions from the bench has been to me of real ser- 
 vice. Our intercourse has always been friendly. And 
 his opinion regarding my services was expressed not 
 only in one testimonial given jointly with the Judges of 
 the Supreme Court of 1836, but in another from him- 
 self in July, 1851. 
 
 27. Amongst those who interested themselves for me 
 in Parliament, I feel particularly obliged to Mr. John 
 Fairbairn, who moved, and Mr. Hercules Crosse 
 Jarvis, who seconded the resolution regarding my ser- 
 vices so favourably in the House of Assembly on the 
 19th September, 1854; also 
 
 28. Sir Andries Stockenstrom, Baronet, who 
 moved the resolution above quoted in the Legislative 
 Council, unanimously adopted. It is to his energy and the 
 powerful speech which appears in a former section that 
 I ascribe my complete success in obtaining the gratuity 
 of £2,000. I owe infinite obligation to that gentleman, 
 who so nobly sustained my cause. He explained suffi- 
 ciently my own and our relative positions, which I 
 refrain from repeating or adding to, knowing his deli- 
 cate feelings on that subject. 
 
 29. To my much respected, and now lamented friend, 
 the late Honourable William Hope, Auditor-General, 
 I feel also much obliged. It was he who generously 
 made the special move in the House of Assembly to 
 grant me at once the sum of £2,000, instead of £1,000 
 and an annual increase of £100, which was under 
 discussion.
 
 496 
 
 30. And I cannot but keep in thankful remembrance 
 the deep interest evinced by the Honourable H. E. 
 RuTHERFooRD, Member of the Legislative Council, by 
 moving that my case should be brought forward, and 
 his special inquiry on that subject. 
 
 31. I feel that I should not close vi^ithout remem- 
 bering with a sense of gratitude how the Honourable 
 Rawson W. Rawson, C.B., our Colonial Secretary, 
 received and forwarded my applications. He appeared 
 to feel much for my position, and I am under the 
 impression that he accelerated my wishes upon princi- 
 ples of justice and equity ; and that it gave him real 
 pleasure to convey to me the decision of his Excellency 
 the Governor, and the Houses of Parliament, in the 
 manner he did. 
 
 32. Last and not least, I feel much obhged to the now 
 Honourable Mr. Justice E. B. Watermeyer, for his 
 legal opinion and the interest taken in my case, when 
 advocate and in parliament. These have been to me of 
 the greatest service. 
 
 33. Finally, I cannot withhold expressing my grateful 
 feelings towards that Parliament who, under a liberal con- 
 stitution granted by our Gracious Sovereign, felt justified 
 to make a grant so liberal as they did in my case. 
 
 And now, allow me to record my sense of gratitude 
 and obligation, for these and other acts of benevolence 
 to myself and family, by kind relatives and friends, my 
 fellow-servants and citizens; and to close with thanks 
 to Him who, in His infinite goodness and mercy, has 
 thus far guided my steps. May the rest of my days be 
 devoted to His service, and my end be blessed, calm, and 
 resigned, as that of my beloved partner in life !
 
 497 
 
 In conclusion, I wish to observe that the idea of 
 writing my autobiography originated from seeing that 
 of the late Sir John Barrow, Bart, (the famous traveller 
 in South Africa) in the Public Library. It struck me 
 that I could not be very singular, or wrong, in copying 
 his example. 
 
 Consequently, I made the attempt, intending to leave 
 it as a legacy to my children, taking the lead from that 
 volume ; but when writing my manuscript I was 
 induced to submit it successively to our respected 
 Governor, Sir George Grey, whose opinion as being an 
 author I was anxious to elicit ; and when I had finished. 
 His Excellency thought that it would be a work that 
 would not only be read with interest in the colony, but 
 also at home, and that it might be of use to my young 
 African friends, to prove that the service of the colony 
 could lead to establish character by application and 
 perseverance. 
 
 And having taken this suggestion, and succeeded in 
 obtaining subscribers to cover nearly the expense of 
 printing and publishing, I introduce this my literary 
 bantling, hoping that my descendants and friends will 
 treat it tenderly and with indulgence ; and that, if my 
 " courteous reader' should feel inclined to attribute it to 
 the love of self-praise, he should remember, 
 1st. That the documents tending towards that inter- 
 pretation, are to be considered as mostly published 
 officially long before, in furtherance of my case 
 with Government and Parliament ; and that the 
 narrative would not be complete without them. 
 2d. That I can have no personal view or interest in the 
 pubhcation, for my public life is closed, and I have 
 
 K -2
 
 498 
 
 no other pursuit by which I can calculate upon 
 advantage for the future. I hope that the veteran 
 of seventy-three years, who in the natural course 
 of life (if he be spared) can but calculate upon a 
 very short span, will, in charity and justice to his 
 character, be considered above such vanity. The 
 main object remains as originally intended, namely, 
 to leave a memento to his children. But, if it 
 have also the tendency, which Sir George Grey 
 supposed, in furthering emulation among the 
 beginners in the colonial service, I shall feel my 
 trouble and expense amply rewarded. 
 3d. In wishing to note my relative position with the 
 Government above mentioned, I could not avoid 
 some repetitions of the Memoir — and intended to 
 save reference.
 
 ADDETs^DA. 
 
 ANNEXURES TO SECTION I, ON "THE ANCESTORS. 
 
 Poem by the Rev. Mr. Borcherds, added to his Family Register. 
 
 IN DUTCH. 
 
 Gelyk de baren v^an de zee, zoo rollen javen en geslachten 
 
 Het eene voor, het andere na, yoorby en been, eer wy 't verwachten. 
 
 Het voorweslacht zonk wes in 't meer der Eeuwiaiheid ; 
 
 0ns die nu leven is hetzelfde lot bereid, 
 
 En gy ! myn lieve nageslacht zult eenmaal op den vloed der lyden 
 
 Ook na datzelfdegrondloosmeer uw levenstroom zien henenglyden. 
 
 Maar in den jongsten dag herleven w' alien weer ; 
 
 Dan is de tyd voorby, dan heerscht de dood niet meer. 
 
 Och ! mogt ik alien in Gods giinst u in dit tydstip zien ontwaken, 
 
 En tot des Hoogen Rechterstroon met my blymoedig zien genaken 
 
 Want wyl we alien eens gaan sterven, vroeg of spae, 
 
 Beveel 'k u alien aan, en bid oni Zyn genae. 
 
 TRANSLATION ATTEMPTED IN PROSE. 
 
 Such as the move of ocean's waves, thus roll years and generations. 
 The one advances, the other succeeds and passes on— under 
 
 anticipation. 
 And generations have sunk into the lake of Eternity ; 
 We who now live are destined to submit to the same fate. 
 And you, my dear posterity, shall once find in the flood of time 
 Your stream of life glide towards that fathomless lake. 
 But in the day of judgment we shall revive; 
 Time will be past and death shall reign no more. 
 
 ! may I see you all in that important eve rise favoured by the 
 
 Lord, 
 And with me approach with joy, the Almighty Judge's Throne. 
 For as we are destined to depart, be it early or late, 
 
 1 resign you to our Heavenly Father, andmay He grant you grace.
 
 500 
 Inscription on the Silver Vase presented to tlie l?ev. Mr. Borcherds. 
 
 IN DUTCH. 
 
 Opgedragen dcor de gemeente te Stellenbosch aan den zeer 
 waardigen Leeraar den Wel-Eerwaarden Heer Meent Borcherds, 
 op den 22sten October, 1826, zynde den dag waarop zyn 
 Wel-Eerwaarde deszelfs veertig-jarige leerrede heeft gedaan, 
 als een blyk van hunne opregte achting en toegenegenheid voor 
 de diensten welke zyn Wel-Eerwaarde gedurende opgemeld 
 langdurig tydvak met zoo veel y ver en getrouwheid aldaar heeft 
 waargenomen. 
 
 TRANSLATED. 
 
 Presented by the congregation at Stellenbosch to the very 
 worthy Minister, the Reverend Mr. Meent Borcherds, on the 22nd 
 October, 1826, being the day upon which he preached the fortieth 
 anniversary sei'mon at that place — in testimony of their true 
 esteem and regard for the services which his Reverence performed 
 during such a long period with so much zeal and fidelity. 
 
 SAUL SOT.OSIOX A>'r) CO., PKINTEKS, CAVE Tn^VN. 
 
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