General Chat

Two Journeys by Wagon. .................................................................................................. In 1868 Mr. Russell's lease of the mills expired and he could not get a renewal, so the family trekked to Maritzburg while he travelled about to look for a good business site. He decided to go to Bloemfontein for this purpose. Elizabeth wished to accompany him, as she did not want to let the chance of such a trip pass, so it was arranged that Annie should take her place at the school. When the travellers reached the Tugela, the river was up and there were between three and four hundred wagons waiting to cross. These belonged to the Boers from the Free State and the Transvaal who went once or twice a year to Natal to get supplies. These wagons, with their ox-hides filled with salted butter slung hammock-wise under them, made a sight never to be forgotten. The butter thus carried was exchanged for goods to the shopkeepers who packed it in barrels and shipped it to Mauritius. The Boers, in their blue moleskin trousers, short jackets and velskoene, made picturesque groups as they sat chatting and smoking around their camp-fires, while they patiently waited for the river to go down. The women-folk, in print dresses with short bodices and full skirts, with black aprons embroidered with gaily coloured woollen flowers, and with coloured mittens, completed the scene. They bustled about serving coffee with beskuit, and handed round dried fruit and biltong of which they carried huge supplies to sell to the shops. After a delay of eight days the Russells with their wagon and oxen were able to cross the river on the punt, a huge, flat raft worked by cables and pulleys. They had gone only a couple of hundred yards after crossing when the wagon stuck fast in the mud and the disselboom broke. Mr. Russell had to walk to Ladysmith to have a new shaft sent out. Along the road they met Meredith Fannin and Newman Robinson. The latter was the brother of John Robinson, who was then Editor of "The Natal Mercury," and who was knighted some time later and became the first premier of Natal when that country received responsible government in 1893. These two men with their wagon had tried to cross the swollen river at the drift, but the water was so deep and strong that they had had to cut the neck-strops of the oxen and pull the wagon back to safety. While doing this they had lost some of their goods which were swept off the vehicle and washed down stream. In those days all wagons meeting along the way travelled together, as the people naturally enjoyed having company on their long slow treks, and also they helped one another when the need arose. Elizabeth considers that there was much more kindness, real unselfishness and friendliness then than there is now-a-days. By the time the Russells reached the top of the Berg, after having gone through van Reenen's Pass, their wagon was one of a company of about forty. This made the journey most enjoyable and at the outspans the travellers were all like one big, jolly family. On the Berg Elizabeth saw the tombstone erected to the memory of the two brothers, Pretorius, who had been murdered by some Basutoes. Strange to say, in later years she met the wife of one of these men. This woman related how, after her husband had been murdered, she had fled with her two children towards Harrismith and how some people named Butler who lived near that village had taken them in and had been kindness itself to her and the children in their hour of need and tragic bereavement. Beyond Harrismith the travellers met with a wonderful sight. Almost as far as the eye could see was one huge, living, moving mass of game - wildebees, blesbuck, springbuck and quaggas. It was an indescribable, unforgettable sight. Many of the native drivers of the wagons made merry music with accordions as they trekked. One of their favourite tunes was the Oslo Waltz, and whenever Elizabeth heard this melody afterwards it would bring back the journey vividly to her mind. On reaching Bloemfontein she was greatly struck with the prettiness of the town and the stucco work on many of the buildings. She and her father had a letter of introduction to Mr. Collins, one of the three men whom the Volksraad had appointed to act temporarily as head of the government during President Brand's illness. On reading the letter he invited them to stay at his home, and they enjoyed their visit thoroughly as they were treated with true hospitality not only by their host and hostess but also by all the people they met during their sojourn in the capital. While here Elizabeth saw a swarm of locusts for the first time in her life. During the invasion of the town by these destructive insects she witnessed a rather gruesome practice common among the natives. A number of them, having filled a grain bag with the little creatures, poured boiling water over them to kill them, after which they spread them out to dry, and later on ate them as though they were some toothsome delicacy. She was offered a situation as governess but she did not accept it as Bloemfontein was too far away from her home. Her father was not successful in finding a business site to suit him so they returned Maritzburg. Shortly afterwards he decided to go to Heidelberg in the Transvaal and this time Annie accompanied him on the trip. He was favourably impressed by the trading possibilities there so he opened a shop in which he carried on a wholesale and retail business with great success. As he was unable to speak Afrikaans, he installed a Mr. Lading, who was bilingual, as manager. Ellen Russell had been ailing for some time so it was arranged that she and Elizabeth should go up-country to their father in the hopes that the complete change would restore her to health. Two wagons were taking goods to Mr. Russell so the girls travelled in the tented one. Under the katel, which was fixed in the customary way in this vehicle and which served the girls as a bed, boxes containing a large quantity of gun-powder were packed. When they outspanned Elizabeth instructed the native driver to make the fire for their cooking some distance away. This was unusual, so a man from one of the other vehicles which had joined them along the way strolled up and enquired what the idea was. She explained that she was taking this precaution because a quantity of gun powder formed part of their load. She shakes with amused laughter as she tells how, following this conversation, the other wagons were seen hurrying away with all possible haste. Within half an hour they had all been inspanned and had disappeared over the first rise. When the sisters were about twelve miles from Heidelberg, the wagon stuck fast in a patch of mud near the house of some Piekies. The driver went to the homestead to borrow an extra span of oxen. He returned with a message to the girls inviting them to the home of the dwarfs. They proceeded thither and were shown into a room with many geranium plants on the window-sills. Biltong was suspended from the rafters of the roof. The Piekie who received them was about four feet in height. He had a very short body, disproportionately long legs, a flowing brown beard and big, flashing, dark eyes. They had scarcely seated themselves when the second dwarf put in an appearance. He came swinging in on crutches. His build was just the opposite to that of his brother in that his body was extremely long and his legs very short. By the time he had seated himself Elizabeth felt as though she had arrived in the Land of Goblins. As this thought passed through her mind the two sisters of the Piekies entered the room. In build the one resembled her brother with the short body and long legs, while the other, who also used crutches, was formed like the second man. The two brothers had married normal women and there were a couple of small children, each clad in a single chemise-lik

Hi Lindy Many thanks, I have pasted and copied, and am up to date so far (including the glossary) you are right I will need it. Haven't read 2 3 or 4 yet, been too busy today in the garden, but was so pleased to come on to the compooter and find all this. Love Norah x

I keep looking, and reading, cheers! terri xx