Boer History1864 in South Africa: Brand, Wodehouse, Pretorius, and Jammerberg Drift
Wodehouse, King William’s Town, and Somerset Street — Colony 1864
Sir Philip Wodehouse still governed the Cape Colony and still held Her Majesty’s high commission in South Africa. He had arrived at Capetown on the 15th of January 1862, succeeding Sir George Grey, who had fallen ill at King William’s Town and by September 1861 had left the country. The Table Bay dock voted in the session of 1861 was still unfinished inside John Coode’s plan, under Arthur Thomas Andrews. The Port Elizabeth light still showed from the 1st of June 1861; the Roman rock light from the 16th of September 1861. In the annexed territory Mr. Justice Fitzpatrick still sat as sole judge, with trial by jury in criminal cases. The castle year mattered because the high commissioner who had written to Moshesh and to Pretorius 12 days after taking the oaths was still the man who could point out a Free State border, or refuse to go until he had power to change it. [3]
The imperial authorities remained opposed to any enlargement of the Cape Colony or any increase of England’s responsibilities in South Africa. Faku, the Pondo chief, had offered to cede the land between the Drakensberg and a line from the Umtata to the Umzimkulu, on condition that the Cape government exercise rule over it. London would not take the land. The Maitland treaty was henceforth read as applying only to the country between the sea and the line Faku had named. That refusal still governed 1864 because Nehemiah and Adam Kok were still fighting in Nomansland, and because Wodehouse had already declined, on the 4th of August 1863, to furnish a map or to admit that Her Majesty had ceded that country to Moshesh’s son. All through 1863 and this year the quarrel continued, without either side gaining an advantage. In this year Lehana, with some of his followers, moved into Nomansland from the Wittebergen reserve and joined his forces to those of Kok. The high commissioner still left the disputing parties to fight their quarrel out. [3]
In Grahamstown the staging and gallows no longer went up outside the jail in Somerset Street. Before 1838 criminals had been hanged in the open street on the outskirts of the town, near where the railway station later stood. After that date the ceremony was performed outside the jail, the staging and gallows being erected when they were wanted. Those public warnings to evil-doers, for such they were intended to be, were discontinued after 1863. This was the first calendar on which the Somerset Street gallows did not stand as a colonial warning. On the Drostdy ground European soldiers had still been flogged in public in the year just closed: a wooden triangle about 7 or 8 feet high a little in front of the Drostdy House, the cat dipped in salt water, 3 flourishes in the air, and 39 lashes as the normal number — 40 save 1. The hangings stopped; the eastern command did not stay in the same town. [4]
The drostdy buildings at Grahamstown had been in military occupation since the adaptation of the Drostdy House in 1836 and the stone barracks of 1838 to 1842 — two large two-storied stone buildings in the drostdy grounds, artillery barracks, powder magazine, military prison with its round tower, hospital on three sides of a quadrangle, and the Drostdy archway. Along the Fish river strong forts with accommodation for large numbers of men and horses had been built in those same years: Fort Brown, Double Drift, Trompetter’s Drift, and others. In this year that occupation ended. King William’s Town became the headquarters, and all the troops were moved thither. The Grahamstown buildings remained empty until 1866. The forts along the Fish river still stood, but the garrison’s centre was no longer Grahamstown. The move mattered because the eastern command now sat closer to the Kei, while the high commissioner who would ride to Aliwal North and Jammerberg Drift this year still governed from Capetown. [4]
Brand of the 2nd of February, the Constitution, and the 3rd — Orange Free State 1864
On the 2nd of February Advocate Jan Hendrik Brand took the oaths of office as president of the Orange Free State. He was a Cape advocate whom the volksraad had recommended, and whom a great majority of the burghers had then chosen. On the day appointed for the election — the 5th of November 1863 — 3450 votes in all were given: 2276 for Brand, 904 for Mr. J. J. Venter, 243 for Mr. T. H. Bowker, and 27 for Mr. J. Allison. Venter had held the acting chair since the 20th of June 1863, after Pretorius sent his last resignation on the 15th of April. The 2nd mattered because the Republic was 10 years old, because Basuto clans were pressing the farms of Winburg and Harrismith, and because Brand, not Venter, would now ask Wodehouse to point the Warden line. [3]
Several clauses in the constitution adopted in 1854 were found to need alteration. No change had yet been made in it, except the nomination of candidates for the presidency and a clause added in 1857 empowering the state secretary to take part in the debates of the volksraad. During the session of February this subject was considered, and several clauses were amended. As the changes required to be approved of in 3 yearly sessions, they did not come into force in this calendar. After those amendments burghers were to consist of all white persons born in the country; all white persons resident for 1 year and possessing fixed property to the value of 500 pounds, registered in their names; and all white persons resident for 3 successive years. Youths at 16 were required to inscribe their names with the field-cornet, and were made liable to military service until 60. Ordinary sessions of the volksraad were fixed at Bloemfontein on the first Monday in May of every year. The constitution as thus amended could not be altered again except by consent of three-fourths of the volksraad given in 2 successive yearly sessions. The session mattered because Brand took office under a constitution still in force from 1854, while the amendments that would define burghership and the May sitting still needed 3 years of approval. [3]
Provision was made for the extension of education: itinerant teachers salaried by the state, and in each district town a government-aided school under the landdrost, the clergyman, and 3 elected members. Its apex was the Grey College at Bloemfontein, founded some years earlier by the bounty of Sir George Grey. Adam Kok had sold his territorial rights to the government of President Pretorius; the question was how far those rights extended, and whether the Campbell grounds north of the Vaal — ceded by Cornelis Kok to his nephew — were included in the sale. The Free State maintained that they were; Mr. David Arnot, agent for Nicholas Waterboer, asserted that they were not. Wodehouse had been requested to act as arbitrator and had consented, and on the 11th of February the volksraad approved of the question being submitted to his decision. Waterboer then refused to sign the deed of submission. Brand expressed an opinion that the best arrangement would be to offer Waterboer the Campbell grounds in exchange for the tract between the Orange, the line from Ramah toward David’s Graf, and the Vetberg line, over which Waterboer’s sovereignty had been recognised in October 1855. That land, though less valuable for farming, was on the Free State side of the Vaal, and the exchange would have given the Republic a clear river boundary. The volksraad did not adopt the proposal. The 11th mattered because a Cape high commissioner was willing to sit the Campbell question, and because Waterboer’s refusal left the claim standing without a deed. [3]
Arnot was now putting forward claims to a much larger tract than the Campbell territory: a line from Ramah on the Orange to David’s Graf at the junction of the Riet and Modder, and thence to Platberg on the Vaal, land which for 15 years had been in undisputed occupation of the Sovereignty and Free State, including the former Korana reserves and many farms held by Europeans. He had inserted that notice in the Colesberg Advertiser on the 21st of November 1863. The Free State government considered the claim so extravagant that no attempt was made to refute it. There had always been in the Free State a party — chiefly residents in the villages — in favour of union with the Cape Colony. Of late years that party had increased, owing to the difficulties with Moshesh and to the Cape’s refusal to surrender any portion of the customs duties on imported goods. In June memorials in favour of annexation to the Cape Colony, signed by 1550 burghers, were laid before the volksraad. The party, though a respectable minority, could not carry a resolution. The majority of the farmers were averse to union, as they set a very high value upon their independence. June mattered because 1550 names asked for the Cape flag while Brand’s majority still preferred to stand alone, even with Moshesh on the Caledon. [3]
The number of churches in the Republic was rapidly increasing. In 1854, when British sovereignty was withdrawn, there had been only 2 clergymen in the whole country. In November of this year a general assembly at Smithfield decided that the Dutch Reformed Church of the Orange Free State should be an independent body governed by a synod of its own. In addition to that denomination there was a branch of the Separatist Reformed Church, with a clergyman at Reddersburg. The Wesleyans had congregations and clergymen in a few of the villages, and the Church of England was represented by several congregations, with a staff of clergymen presided over by a bishop — the right reverend Edward Twells — who had arrived in September 1863. On the 3rd of February the volksraad empowered President Brand again to request the high commissioner to point out the boundary between the Free State and the Lesuto, and on the 5th the president wrote in the strongest language, entreating him to do so. The Warden line of 1849, proclaimed by Sir Harry Smith and ratified in the treaty of Aliwal North on the 29th of September 1858, was the line the farmers wanted marked on the ground. Moshesh had rejected it at Platberg on the 25th of November 1863 and had proposed a new boundary to the Vaal that would have cut off nearly half of Winburg and Harrismith, including about 250 farms held under British titles. To Brand’s letter the now stereotyped reply was received that his Excellency was willing, if his mediation was distinctly accepted by both parties. And to bring the matter to a close, the high commissioner not only wrote to Moshesh asking him to state plainly whether he would accept or decline the proposal, but he directed Mr. John Burnet to proceed to Thaba Bosigo and personally confer with the great chief. The 3rd mattered because Brand’s first week in office turned on whether Wodehouse would ride the Warden line, and because Burnet was sent to obtain Moshesh’s signature before any inspection could begin. [3]
Aliwal North of the 16th of March, the 5th of May, and Jammerberg Drift of October — Orange Free State 1864
Burnet, in reporting the result of his mission, stated that he found Moshesh pretending to be ignorant of both the Warden line and the treaty of Aliwal North, and refusing to listen to a word about either. He talked with his children and missionaries from Monday till Wednesday evening, and then came to a conclusion which he embodied in a letter, and which left him free to do what he liked, if he should not be satisfied with the high commissioner’s decision. Burnet told him that he would make no arrangement for the mediation upon any such document. He had drafted an act of acceptance, which was fully and clearly translated by the reverend Messrs. Maitin and Mabille, and after much wild rambling talk at 11 o’clock at night the great chief signed it. Burnet added that it was only fear of the British Government which induced Moshesh to agree to the mediation. The president wrote expressing his warmest and most sincere thanks, and the volksraad, with every demonstration of satisfaction, appointed 2 of its members — Messrs. C. J. de Villiers and H. A. L. Hamelberg — to form with the president a deputation to meet his Excellency and represent the state. The night signature mattered because the Free State now had Moshesh’s act in writing, and because Brand’s government believed that if Wodehouse pointed the line, Moshesh would respect it. [3]
Burnet was directed to confer with the president and make the necessary arrangements for the high commissioner’s journey. The Free State provided transport waggons and horses, which were sent on to Aliwal North. It was arranged that the work of inspecting the line should be commenced on the 14th of March. All the parties were to meet at Mekuatling on that date; but very heavy rains set in, and a week’s postponement became necessary. This gave Moshesh an opportunity to seek further delay, and he wrote requesting that on account of the heavy rains and swollen rivers the meeting might be postponed indefinitely. On the 16th of March the high commissioner arrived at Aliwal North. The Free State deputation was in waiting upon the opposite bank of the river. But now a difficulty entirely unforeseen arose. On the 26th of February, before leaving Grahamstown, the high commissioner had written to the president that he was undertaking the journey in the supposition that he would be allowed to make such modifications of the line as he might consider just and reasonable, and calculated to ensure the maintenance of peaceful relations. The Free State Government was desirous that his Excellency should point out the line defined by Major Warden, proclaimed by Sir Harry Smith, and ratified in the treaty of Aliwal North; but was willing that he should make such modifications in it as both parties might agree to. The 16th mattered because Wodehouse had come as far as the Orange, and because the power he wanted was a power Brand could not grant while the volksraad was not in session. [3]
When Wodehouse reached Aliwal North, he addressed a letter to the president, asking for a clear understanding on this point. The president could only reply in terms of the Free State view. Under the constitution, the volksraad was the only authority that could grant such powers as the high commissioner desired, and that body was not then in session. Several letters passed, and on the morning of the 17th of March they had a personal interview. It ended by Wodehouse declining to proceed on the mission, the difference remaining as implied in the phrases, “what the high commissioner may consider just and reasonable,” and “what the Free State and Basuto deputations may think expedient.” From Aliwal North he proceeded to Morija, where he met Moshesh. The great chief spoke in his usual manner of his love of peace, and promised to abstain from all acts of hostility towards the Free State. But such promises were valueless, for his people continued as before to press upon and harass the farmers of Winburg and Harrismith. The president returned with all speed to Bloemfontein, and immediately summoned the volksraad to meet in extraordinary session on the 4th of May. On the 5th of May the members resolved, in their wish to prevent war, to empower his Excellency to make such modifications in the Warden line as he might consider just and reasonable, and calculated to ensure the maintenance of peaceful relations, and that his Excellency’s decision should be considered as final. The 5th mattered because Brand’s volksraad now gave Wodehouse the very power refused on the 17th of March, and because without that grant the high commissioner would not define a boundary at all. [3]
With these extensive powers Wodehouse consented to define a boundary, but it was not until October that he was able to absent himself from the colony. On the 6th of October he reached Jammerberg Drift, where Burnet had arranged that all the parties should assemble. With Wodehouse were Lady Wodehouse, Sir Walter Currie, Rivers, Burnet, Dr. Watling, and Land-surveyor Dowling; with Brand were Venter, Commandants Fick and De Villiers, and Field-cornet De Wet; Moshesh came with a host of sub-chiefs; Moroko was there also, with farmers, missionaries, and others drawn by interest or curiosity. On the 7th of October a formal conference lasted 6 hours. The Free State asked that the boundary of 1849, confirmed in 1858, should be maintained. Moshesh’s case was that Bantu tribes had once occupied the whole land between the Lesuto and the Vaal; the remnants now lived in the Lesuto. He handed a list of chiefs whose ancestors had occupied the country beyond the Warden line before the wars of Tshaka, and asked that the ground should be restored to their heirs. Wodehouse stated that he would examine the ground in person, and gave both parties to understand that he had neither the disposition nor the authority to enforce compliance with whatever his award might be. The 7th mattered because the award that would follow would be a paper line, not a British force on the Caledon. [3]
On the 8th of October Wodehouse, accompanied by the commissioners of the Free State and of Moshesh, commenced an inspection of the country. As the party proceeded, one Basuto delegate after another returned home, when the district in which he was interested was left behind. But the claims which they made, like those of Moshesh, would in the aggregate have involved the extinction of the Free State. The delegates of the Republic confined themselves to pointing out the Warden line and proving that the ground beyond it was unoccupied when the farmers first took possession of it. The examination occupied rather more than a fortnight, but by the 28th of October the high commissioner had reached Aliwal North on his return, and on that day delivered his award in writing. It was wholly in favour of the Free State. In the question of the disputed boundary he was obliged to be guided by rules of justice. And in accordance with those rules he decided that the Warden line must remain the boundary, with only one slight change. During the British occupation a small tract of land north of one section of the line had not been divided into farms, as Mr. Biddulph, magistrate of Winburg, had proposed to add it to the reserve assigned to Gert Taaibosch’s Koranas. Those people had long since moved beyond the Vaal, and the high commissioner now gave to Moshesh the ground which Biddulph had intended for them. The 28th mattered because the line Brand had asked for in February was now on paper, with one Korana reserve excepted, and because Wodehouse had already said he would not enforce it. [3]
The Award of the 28th of October, Ramanela of November, and the Guard of the 27th of December — Orange Free State 1864
In the letter to the chief informing him of the award, Wodehouse described the country as he found it. The Warden line, he wrote, had been so drawn as to do no more, except in one portion, than preserve the farms for which British certificates had been given; up to the signing of the Aliwal treaty the rights of the owners had not been questioned nor their possession disturbed. From one end of the line to the other, and in most cases a considerable distance within it, parties of Moshesh’s tribe, without a pretence of right and without any formal declaration on his part, had squatted on the farms, established villages, cultivated large tracts, introduced large quantities of cattle, and by intimidation driven off the lawful owners. Everywhere were deserted and roofless farm-houses, with valuable orchards fast going to destruction. Immediately after the delivery of the award the president requested Moshesh to cause his people to be removed from Free State territory before the end of November. Moshesh replied that he would call a meeting of his sub-chiefs. The letter mattered because Wodehouse’s own inspection had found the Warden farms occupied, and because Brand’s November deadline was the first test of whether the award would be kept. [3]
A pitso, or national gathering of the Basuto, was thereupon held. At these meetings there is liberty of speech for everyone, and on this occasion even the common people uttered their sentiments freely. All were in a state of violent excitement, and all, with 2 exceptions, clamoured for war rather than relinquishment of the coveted territory. The exceptions were Moshesh and his great son Letsie. Letsie had intelligence enough to know that extension of the Lesuto north of the Warden line meant increase of the power of Molapo and Masupha, which he had no wish to see, and he gave his opinion that the agreement to abide by the high commissioner’s decision should be faithfully observed. Moshesh’s reasons were different. He was far too prudent to put himself in the wrong with the British Government. In that figurative language which he was so fond of using, he told the assembly that they were in this matter governed, but that some other cause for war might arise. His people understood him. It was thereupon resolved, though not expressed in words, that to save appearances the Basuto squatters should be withdrawn from the Free State, and that a cause for war would be found such as would not forfeit the sympathy of the British Government. The pitso mattered because Moshesh and Letsie alone stood against the clamour, and because the withdrawal that followed was meant to keep Wodehouse’s goodwill, not to keep the Warden line. [3]
The chiefs who attended the pitso had no sooner dispersed than cattle-lifting was resumed on a very extensive scale along the south-western border, from which that quarter had for nearly 3 years been tolerably free. From the ground north of the Warden line the women, children, and horned cattle were removed, but the men and horses were left behind. A strong patrol of farmers was assembling, to be ready on the 1st of December to expel any intruders who might then remain. While matters were in this condition, on the 22nd of November a letter was handed to the president by some Basuto, who stated that it had been sent by Moshesh. The seal of the great chief was not attached to it. Its purport was that if Wodehouse would not give another line than that of Major Warden, Moshesh would not submit. The object evidently was to provoke an attack before the expiration of the month. The president was too cautious to be thus imposed upon. He sent Commandant Wessels to Moshesh to ascertain if he acknowledged the document, when the great chief declared it to be a forgery. About the same time some farms near Bethlehem were pillaged by a party of Basuto under Lesawana, or Ramanela, as he is now called. This Ramanela was a son of Moshesh’s brother Makhabane, and was married to Moshesh’s daughter of highest rank, who was a full sister of Letsie. The attack upon the farms was entirely unprovoked. The homesteads were damaged, the loose property was destroyed, and the cattle were driven off. Wodehouse had counselled moderation in requiring fulfilment of the award, and had expressed an opinion that some of the Basuto squatters might remain within the Free State on reasonable conditions. Overtures from Ramanela himself were being favourably entertained at the very time when he plundered the Bethlehem farmers. After this, the Free State authorities resolved that none could remain. As the act did not provoke retaliation, Moshesh affected to throw all the blame upon Ramanela, promised to punish him for it, and engaged to compensate the farmers to the extent demanded by Commandant De Villiers: to restore their stock, and to pay 70 head of good cattle as damages. November mattered because Ramanela struck inside the award while Brand still refused to open fire, and because Moshesh’s promise of 70 head was the only redress offered. [3]
At the beginning of December the president, with a strong patrol, inspected the line, found no Basuto within it except in one place a few who appeared to be panic-stricken, left a guard of 200 men on the border, and returned to Bloemfontein. Moshesh wrote that he had ordered his subjects to withdraw, and believed they had all done so except a few of Ramanela’s clan. He asked if there was truth in a rumour that the Free State, the South African Republic, and Moroko had entered into alliance to attack him. He stated that his people had abandoned the territory so hastily that they had been unable to remove the corn stored in baskets, and requested permission to return for such property and to gather the growing crops. Moperi and Molapo wrote making similar requests. The president gave permission to send unarmed people for the corn and loose goods before the end of January of the next calendar, provided they conducted themselves properly; the crops in the gardens he would submit to the volksraad. Some of Ramanela’s people still remained in secluded parts of the territory restored to the Free State by the award. On the 27th of December they attacked the border guard as it was patrolling in the Harrismith district, but were driven back, with the loss of 1 man killed and 5 wounded. The president then called upon Moshesh to remove these subjects of his, and to fulfil the engagements he had made a month before. The great chief repeated his promise, spoke of his love of peace and desire to do what was right, asked that a commission should be sent to confer with him upon the punishment of Ramanela, and when Mr. Job Harvey, landdrost of Smithfield, was sent with this object, would do nothing. The 27th mattered because the award of the 28th of October had now been tested by a shot on the Harrismith patrol, and because Harvey’s errand to Thaba Bosigo produced no punishment of Ramanela. [3]
Viljoen of the 5th of January, Pretorius of the 10th of May, and the End of the Strife — South African Republic 1864
Calendar 1863 had closed with Commandant Jan Viljoen in a strong camp where the road crosses the Limpopo, and with Commandant-General Paul Kruger collecting his forces at Rustenburg. Viljoen’s force termed itself the Volksleger, the Army of the People; Kruger’s was the Staatsleger, the Army of the State. The quarrel was the civil strife that had run since September 1860: who should sit the presidency after Pretorius tried to hold both republics, and whether Willem C. Janse van Rensburg’s oaths of the 24th of October 1863 would survive Viljoen’s camp. From 800 to 900 men rallied round Kruger, and with them he went to meet Viljoen. Having formed a camp about 3 miles from that of the volksleger, he advanced with a mere patrol and drew out his opponent. Then retreating to a place where he had posted a strong force, he turned upon his pursuers. A battle followed, on the 5th of January, in which the volksleger was beaten, and compelled to retire to the camp on the Limpopo, but was not reduced either to submit or to disperse. On Kruger’s side 2 men were killed, and 6 or 8 were wounded; on Viljoen’s side 5 were killed, and about 30 were wounded. The 5th mattered because Van Rensburg’s chair still needed a field, and because a beaten volksleger still sat the Limpopo instead of laying down its arms. [3]
On the following day Mr. M. W. Pretorius arrived from the Free State and offered himself as a mediator. Though he expressed great regret at the course Viljoen had adopted, the men of the volksleger were those who had always been his political supporters, and they received him warmly. Kruger agreed to discuss matters once more. On the 8th of January the representatives of the two armies met. The conference lasted 6 days. For the volksleger the delegates were Pretorius, T. F. J. Steyn, and J. J. Fourie; for the staatsleger, Kruger, S. J. Grobbelaar, and S. T. Prinsloo. They agreed that a new election should be held, with a commission from each party present at the signing of the ballot papers; that the existing administration should remain until the new president was sworn in; and that a special court of Brand, Chief Justice Harding of Natal, and Advocate Hamelberg should decide vexed questions. These terms were approved by the two commandoes on the 15th of January. The burghers were then disbanded. Kruger and Fourie went to Bloemfontein to request Brand and Hamelberg to sit; the Free State volksraad made no objection provided they acted unofficially; none of the gentlemen named would undertake the duty, as the authority was irregular and there could be no guarantee that their decisions would be carried out. The 15th mattered because the Limpopo camps broke up without a special court, and because the next president would be chosen with both parties watching the ballot. [3]
There were 2637 votes recorded at the presidential election. Of these, 1519 were for Marthinus Wessel Pretorius, and 1118 for Willem C. Janse van Rensburg. On the 10th of May the volksraad met, and Pretorius took the oaths of office. With this ceremony the civil strife which had so long agitated the Republic ceased. When a little later it was decided that all sentences of banishment, confiscation of property, and fines, which had been passed for political offences should be annulled, and that whatever had been seized should be restored to its original owners, there was a general feeling of satisfaction. With Pretorius as president and Kruger as commandant-general working together, the government was sufficiently strong to prevent open rebellion by any party of disaffected burghers. The civil strife was over, but the injury it had caused could not easily be repaired. The treasury was empty, salaries were in arrears, taxes of all kinds were outstanding and practically irrecoverable. That was the smallest item in the account. The Republic had lost the confidence of the outside world; no one any longer believed in its stability. The Orange Free State, once so desirous for union, now preferred to stand alone even in the dark shadow of the Basuto power. Several of the tribes on the border and in the mountainous districts of the north had become practically independent: they had paid no taxes, nor had authority been exercised over them. The 10th mattered because the oaths of 1519 votes closed a strife that had run from 1860, and because an empty treasury and independent northern clans were what Pretorius and Kruger inherited. [3]
The ecclesiastical quarrels came to an end with the cessation of political strife. Three other clergymen had arrived. The reverend G. W. Smits sat Rustenburg for those who used hymns in public worship, so that there were now 2 congregations in that district; the reverend J. Begemann sat Pretoria; the reverend N. J. van Warmelo sat Zoutpansberg. After the Cape supreme court had excluded the clergymen of the Republics from the Cape synod, the reverend Mr. Van Heiningen of Lydenburg and the elders of Utrecht, who had united with the Dutch Reformed Church in Natal, decided early in this year to have a general assembly of their own. The 10th of May closed the burgher war; the pulpits followed the chairs. [3]
Mapok and Malewu, the Swazi of June, and Mahura’s Debt — South African Republic 1864
The terms of peace concluded with the Batlapin chief Mahura on the 18th of August 1858 had never been completed. The amount of damages and costs which he had undertaken to pay was not stated in the agreement, but on the 6th of the following October the president had written to him demanding 8000 head of good cattle, 300 horses, and 500 guns to meet this debt. He had never paid a single hoof, and when a letter of demand was addressed to him 11 days after the return to office of Pretorius, he referred the government of the Republic to his agent, Mr. David Arnot. This was equivalent to ignoring his liability, and declaring that he had no intention of doing anything in the matter. For several years after this calendar, subjects of greater importance than the debt of Mahura occupied the attention of the authorities at Pretoria. The demand mattered because Pretorius’s first fortnight in the chair reached as far as Mahura, and because Arnot — the same agent who claimed the Campbell grounds against Brand — now stood between Pretoria and 8000 head. [3]
Two clans in the district of Lydenburg had taken up arms, and for many months the white residents there had been living in laagers. One of these clans, which was under a chief called by the Europeans Mapok, had been notorious for cattle-lifting ever since 1853. The other was under a chief named Malewu. In October 1863 Mapok had attacked the principal laager, but had been driven back with heavy loss. A patrol of 60 men under Field-cornet Daniel Erasmus had fallen in with a large party of the enemy on a plain, and had killed 130, at a cost of 2 farmers wounded; but with these exceptions the advantages had all been on the side of the clans. They had possession of the whole of the outlying farms, and had destroyed all the houses and orchards. In December 1863 a force had been sent from Pretoria against them, but had been recalled before doing anything, owing to the revolt of Commandant Viljoen. The laagers still sat in Lydenburg when Pretorius took the oaths on the 10th of May. That inheritance mattered because Viljoen’s rising had pulled the Pretoria force back, and because Mapok and Malewu still held the farms when the civil strife ended. [3]
Within a month of the return to office of President Pretorius, a large commando was on its way to Lydenburg to deal with Mapok and Malewu. But it had no occasion to fight. Those chiefs had other enemies in the Swazis, one of the bravest and most powerful of the coast tribes. In June a Swazi army fell upon Mapok and routed him. It next attacked Malewu and nearly annihilated his clan, leaving in one place alone the corpses of 854 men, and 2840 women and children. The Swazis then withdrew to their own side of the boundary, and left to Commandant-General Joseph van Dyk only the task of collecting the remnants of the hostile clans and assigning them locations to live in. What Lydenburg had this year was not a burgher victory on the plain, but a Swazi slaughter in June, and locations marked for what remained. June mattered because 854 men and 2840 women and children in one place ended the laagers without Pretorius’s commando having to fire. [3]
The village of Bloemhof was founded in August of this year. It would later give its name to a district, but in this calendar it was a village only, on the western side toward the Hart and the Vaal. August mattered because a new church-place on the Hart would, years later, name a magistracy whose western boundary was proclaimed as that river. [3]
Zoutpansberg, McCorkindale of September, and Utrecht of December — 1864
In 1864 the district of Zoutpansberg — the northern portion of the Republic — included the whole country enclosed by the Limpopo, the Waterberg, and the Olifants river from the great bend where it turns to the east. In this year the white inhabitants of that district were the most lawless of their colour in all South Africa. Respectable people still sat farms, but on the frontier fugitives from justice had assembled, of almost every European nationality, professedly traders and hunters, who sent blacks for ivory and ostrich feathers while they remained at home. The blacks, entrusted with guns, sold the greater portion of the ivory to illicit traders for more arms, until the clans were well armed, and then refused to restore the weapons. The chief inland market of the ivory trade was Schoemansdal, called after Stephanus Schoeman, on an open plain at the southern base of the range, about half a degree north of the tropic — the most distant outpost of the white man towards the heart of the continent. The landdrost Jan Vercueil held his court here; the reverend N. J. van Warmelo sat the Dutch Reformed church that had just been built. West of the village, at Goedgedacht, the reverend Mr. McKidd sat the mission among Michiel Buys’s people. A few miles east, Mr. J. Albasini sat as vice-consul for Portugal and superintendent of all the blacks in the district, and as head of the refugee Magwamba. The district mattered because guns left with black hunters, illicit powder, and Albasini’s double office — Portuguese consul and Republican superintendent — sat together at the northern outpost while Pretorius’s chair was still new. [3]
For several years preceding this calendar the tribe under Ramapulana had been convulsed by a struggle for ascendency between two sons, named Magadu and Tabana. The tribe had used the civil strife in the Republic to make itself practically independent. In this year the old chief died, when Magadu, who was aided by the captains Katlakter, brother of Ramapulana, Sewase, Mazivemdela, Pago, and others of less note, accused Tabana of having caused his father’s death by means of witchcraft. With all the forces that they could muster they fell upon him and his adherents, who were defeated and driven from their kraals. Tabana, with those of his followers who managed to escape, fled to Albasini, and claimed his protection. His enemies requested that he should be surrendered to them, but Albasini, in his capacity as an official of the South African Republic, refused to do this, and gave Tabana a location where he was in safety. This event was the cause of the division of the Baramapulana into two sections, one of which, under Magadu, Katlakter, Sewase, and other chiefs, was unfriendly to the Europeans; while the clan under Tabana was obedient to the Republic. There were thus many elements of discord in the district: the refusal of the black hunters to give up guns, a bitter feeling toward the disorderly Europeans who plundered without scruple, arms acquired from illicit traders, and a violent tribal feud in which one party was protected by the European government. Ramapulana’s death mattered because Albasini’s location for Tabana split the Baramapulana, and because Magadu’s section now sat unfriendly on the same range as Schoemansdal. [3]
East and north-east of Zoutpansberg the Matshangana sat under Umzila, absolutely independent of the South African Republic. Early in this year Umzila sent messengers to Albasini, to request that Monene with his wives and children should either be surrendered or be put to death. He threatened that in case his request was not complied with he would close the hunting grounds in and beyond his country, then the chief source of the supply of ivory. Before this request was made, Monene had lost favour with Albasini, and was giving a great deal of trouble by his turbulent conduct. He came to learn the object of Umzila’s messengers, and fearing for his life, he fled to Commandant Frederik Geyser, to whom he stated that Albasini was plotting to kill him. The commandant sent him to the farm of Mr. Jacob de Couto to be provided for, and summoned Albasini to appear before the landdrost at Schoemansdal — Mr. Jan Vercueil — on the 7th of April. Monene was directed to be present at the same time, with his witnesses. Albasini refused to obey the summons, and asserted that in matters relating to black people his office of superintendent was superior to that of either a commandant or a landdrost, so that he held himself accountable only to the executive council of the Republic. There was no power to compel his attendance, and the matter was allowed to rest until the president should visit Zoutpansberg, Monene in the meantime remaining at De Couto’s farm. In July Pretorius visited the district, and as a temporary measure gave Monene a location close to Schoemansdal, placing him under the supervision of the landdrost Vercueil. The 7th of April mattered because Albasini would not sit under Vercueil, and because ivory hunting hung on whether Monene was surrendered to Umzila or parked beside Schoemansdal. [3]
In September a scheme of colonisation of a portion of the waste lands was submitted to the government by a Scotchman named Alexander McCorkindale, resident in Natal, who had failed to obtain reduced quit-rent farms from the Orange Free State. He proposed to form a commercial association in Great Britain to send out at least 300 families, with a bank, a loan to the Republic at a moderate rate of interest, a cheap supply of ammunition, and warehouses where the Maputa issues from the Lembobo mountains toward Delagoa Bay, beyond fever and the tsetse. From the earliest days of the great emigration, efforts had been made to open communication with the outer world through Delagoa Bay; a small and precarious trade existed, but fever, tsetse, and the want of a waggon road had prevented its growth. McCorkindale’s scheme, if it could be carried into effect, would overcome those difficulties, and it found great favour with a people who wanted a seaport under their own control. The government granted him many concessions, and agreed to sell him 200 farms — about 1250000 acres — for 8000 pounds, that is 40 pounds for a farm. The district thereafter took the name of New Scotland. It lies along the Drakensberg, in an elevated, healthy, and fertile region, bordered by the Swazi country, in which McCorkindale hoped to obtain by purchase a large tract and a roadway to his stores at the Lembobo mountains. September mattered because an empty treasury sold 200 farms for 8000 pounds on the promise of 300 families and a Maputa warehouse, while the Portuguese coast still sat beyond fever and fly. [3]
On the 30th of September the volksraad instructed the president to appoint a commission to confer with the Zulu chiefs and erect beacons along the Utrecht border. Panda’s government, though cruel if judged by a European standard, was mild when compared with that of Dingane or Tshaka; white traders were encouraged, and missionaries were permitted to labour. Since December 1856, when Cetewayo defeated Umbulazi on the Tugela, Cetewayo had been the real ruler. When the volksraad’s instruction was communicated to Panda he replied in a very friendly manner, speaking of the burghers of the Republic as his fathers and acknowledging his indebtedness to them. In December Pretorius, accompanied by Commandant-General Paul Kruger and Mr. Joseph Fourie, member of the executive council, visited Utrecht, and from that place sent messengers to Panda and Cetewayo, requesting the chiefs to appoint delegates to assist in putting up beacons along the line. Panda thereupon appointed Gebula, and Cetewayo directed one of his confidential servants, named Gunjini, to represent him. The line was then beaconed off, the Zulu delegates pointing out the positions and placing the first stone of nearly every pile. December mattered because Pretorius and Kruger, working together after the 10th of May, got Panda’s mark and Cetewayo’s man on the Utrecht stones, and because those piles were the first test of whether the Zulu border would stand once the civil strife was over. [3]