Reminiscences of a South African Pioneer

W. C. (William Charles) Scully

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• Publié par: offe
• Publié le: 08 décembre 2010
• Nombre de lectures: 65
• Langue: English

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South African Pioneer, by W. C. Scully
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Title: Reminiscences of a South African Pioneer
Author: W. C. Scully
Release Date: November 26, 2007 [eBook #23638]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII)
***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG
EBOOK REMINISCENCES OF A SOUTH
AFRICAN PIONEER***
E-text prepared by Charles KlingmanREMINISCENCES OF A SOUTH AFRICAN
PIONEER
(1st Series Wanderjahre)
by
WILLIAM CHARLES SCULLY
Author of
"By Veldt and Kopje," "Kafir Stories," "The Ridge of
the White Waters,"
"Between Sun and Sand," Etc., Etc.
With 16 Illustrations
T. Fisher Unwin
London: Adelphi Terrace
Leipsic: Inselstrasse 20
First published in 1913.
(All rights reserved.)
"Ignoranti quern portum petat, nullus suus ventusest."
SENECA.
To
ELAINE, GERALD, ERNEST, MIRIAM, LILLA,
AND BETTY,
THIS RECORD OF
THEIR FATHER'S EARLY WANDERINGS OVER
THE
YET-UNVEILED FACE OF SOUTH AFRICA
IS INSCRIBED
FOREWORD
The reminiscences set down in this volume have
been published serially in The State of South
Africa, in a more or less abridged form, under the
title of "Unconventional Reminiscences." They are
mainly autobiographical. This has been inevitable;
in any narrative based upon personal experience,
an attempt to efface oneself would tend to weakenvitality.
Having lived for upwards of forty-five years in
South Africa usually in parts remote from those
settled areas which have attained a measure of
civilization and having been a wide wanderer in my
early days, it has been my fortune to witness many
interesting events and to be brought into contact
with many strong men. Occasionally, as in the
case of the earlier discoveries of gold and
diamonds, I have drifted, a pipkin among pots,
close to the centre around which the immediate
interests of the country seemed to revolve.
The period mainly dealt with is that magical one
when South Africa unnoted and obscure was
startled from the simplicity of her bucolic life by the
discovery of gold and diamonds. This was, of
course, some years before the fountains of her
boundless potential wealth had become fully
unsealed. I was one of that band of light-hearted,
haphazard pioneers who, rejoicing in youthful
energy and careless of their own interests,
unwittingly laid the foundation upon which so many
great fortunes have been built.
An ancient myth relates how the god Dionysus
decreed that everything touched by Midas, the
Phrygian king, should turn into gold, but the effect
was so disastrous that Midas begged for a reversal
of the decree. The prayer was granted,
conditionally upon the afflicted king bathing in the
River Pactolus.South Africa may, in a sense, be paralleled with
Midas both as regards the bane of gold and the
antidote of bathing but her Pactolus has been one
of blood.
Midas again got into trouble by, refusing to adjudge
in the matter of musical merit between Pan and
Apollo, and this time was punished by having his
ears changed into those of an ass.
Our choice lies before us; may we avoid the ass's
ears by boldly making a decision. May we evade a
worse thing by unhesitatingly giving our award in
favor of Apollo.
With this apologia I submit my humble gleanings
from fields on which no more the sun will shine, to
the indulgent sympathy of readers.
W. C. S.
PORT ELIZABETH, SOUTH AFRICA, January,
1913.
CONTENTS
CHAPTER I
Foreword—My father's family—"Old Body"—Dualla
—A cruel experiment—"OldBody"—and the goose—Cook and kitchen-maid—
Scull and monkey—My mother's
family—Abbey view—The Bock of Cashel—Captain
Meagher and early chess
Sir Dominic Corrigan—"Old Mary" and the sugar—
Naval ambitions—Harper
Twelvetree and the burial agency
CHAPTER II
Improved health—Jimmy Kinsella—Veld food—I
abscond—Father Healy on conversion—Father
O'Dwyer and his whip—Confession—Construction
of a volcano—The Fenian outbreak—Departure for
South Africa—The tuneful soldier—Chess at sea—
Madeira A gale—The Asia
CHAPTER III
Arrival at Cape Town—Port Elizabeth—First
encounter with big game Grahamstown—Severe
thunderstorm—King William's Town Natives and
their ponies—Social peculiarities—Farming—The
annual trek—Camp-life Surf-bathing—Self-
sacrificing attitude of Larry O'Toole—Capture of an
ant-bear—The coast scenery—A moral shock—
School Chief Toise—Rainy seasons—Flooded
riversCHAPTER IV
Trip to the Transkei—Tiyo Soga and his family—
Trip to the seaside—The Fynns—Wild dogs—Start
as a sheep farmer—My camp burnt out—First
commercial adventure—Chief Sandile—Discovery
of diamonds—Start for Golconda—Traveling
companions—Manslaughter narrowly escaped—
Old De Beers—Life at the Diamond Fields—
Scarcity of water—First case of diamond stealing—
I nearly discover Kimberley Mine—The rush to
Colesberg Kopje—My first diamond—Its loss and
my humiliation—Kimberley claims dear at 10—
Camp-life in early days—I. D. B.—Canteen
burning.
CHAPTER V
My claim a disappointment—Good results attained
elsewhere—A surprised
Boer—"Kopje wallopers"—Thunderstorms—A
shocking spectacle—"Old Moore"
and his love affair—The morning market—Attack of
enteric—I go to King
William's Town to recruit Toby once more—A
venture in onions—Return to
Kimberley—The West End mess—The Rhodes
brothers—Norman Garstin—H. C.
Seppings Wright—"Schipka" Campbell—Cecil John
Rhodes—A game of euchreThe church bell—Raw natives—Alum diamonds—
Herbert Rhodes and the cannon
His terrible end.
CHAPTER VI
Big gambling—Von Schlichmann—Norman Garstin
—The painter of St. Michael's Mount—Start for the
gold fields—"I am going to be hanged"
Plentifulness of game—Snakes in an anthill—
Nazareth—Game in the High Veld—Narrow escape
from frost-bite—A shooting match—Lydenburg—
Painful tramping—"Artful Joe"—Penalty for suicide
—Pilgrim's Rest—Experiences of "a new chum"—
Tent-making—Explorations—The Great Plateau—
Prospect of the Low Country—Elands.
CHAPTER VII
Extended rambles—View from the mountain top—
An unknown land—The deadly fever—Gray's fate
—Lack of nursing—Temperature rises after death
Pilgrim's Rest in early days—The prison—The
stocks—No color line—John Cameron in trouble—
The creek "lead"—Plenty of gold—Wild peaches
Massacres of natives in old days—Kameel—His
expressions—Life on the creek—Major Macdonald
—The parson—Boulders—Bad accidents—A
quaint signboard—"Reefing Charlie".CHAPTER VIII
Work on "the Reef"—Shaft-sinking in a swamp—
Wolff and McGrath—A case of snake-bite—
Tunneling—Humping green timber—John Mulcahy
—His Gargantuan breakfast—His peculiar habits—
His end—The rush to "the Reef" Cunningham's
lead—My bad luck—Peter and his appetite—"Mr.
William Bogis" Fabayne, the cave-dweller—A
bellicose bridegroom—Knox and his revolver
practice—A senseless toast and its sequel—A
terrible accident Alick Dempster and the Police
News.
CHAPTER IX
Expedition to Delagoa Bay—A rencontre at
Constantinople—Morisot and the lion—Game in
the Low Country—The Barber encampment—
Lion's attack by daylight—Lions in the donga—The
lion's voice—Ways of the lion—The lion an eater of
carrion—Tyrer and the buffalo—Veld fires—A piece
of bad luck—The Low Country rivers—Snakes—
Hyenas—Louren Marques—Funeral of Pat Foote—
Discovery of gold near Blyde River—Anticipated
affluence Disappointment