State of the Public Mind
State of the public mind — A civil war — Infatuation — Conference with iNIothihi — Attack of the marauders — Leave the station — Universal commotion — Death of Peclu, the young prince — The Kuatse disease — Cruel superstition — Revenge sought — Renew’ed attacks — Mr. Hughes’s illness — Discouraging prospects — Un¬ generous conduct — A chief eaten by a lion — Fresh alarms — Locusts — Description of them — How prepared for use — Young locusts most destructive — Calf stealers — Remarkable case.
The events which haxe been recorded may, in the judgment of some of my readers, seem irrelevant to the subject of missions, except so far as they illustrate the nathe character, and depict the situation into which the missionary is frequently brought, in the course of his philanthropic career, in countries where our species has sunk into the lowest depths of barbarism and xdce. In glancing over missionary records of bygone years, it will be seen that this is neither a new nor a peculiar aspect of the position which Providence sometimes calls him to occupy. It may also be presumed that no one would be ambitious of such a distinction; while all may see how perplexing, distressing, and sometimes heart-rending, his situation must be, and the need he has of the wisdom which cometh from above; which he feels more especially when there are none with whom he can confer.
It is then that the throne of his heavenly Father is found to he a refuge that never fails; and it is in such seasons that he experiences the fulfilment of the promise, “Lo, I am with you alway for surely in such exigencies human prudence would often prove utterly insufficient.
After my return, Mr. Hamilton continued his labours at the new station, assisted by Mr. Hughes, who had arrived from Griqua Town a short time before, while I remained to carry on the services among the Bechuanas. The attack of the rebel Griquas on the Batlaros proved only the precursor of a succession of distressing and affiictive providences among that people, which had well nigh led to the destruction of the mission. These circumstances kept the public mind in a state of ferment, each division and tribe being distrustful of another. Attendance on divine worship was extremely irregular; which Mothibi accounted for by saying, that when an enemy came from the interior, they had neither horses nor guns, and there was some chance of escape; but when Griquas and Corrannas came, who could obtain these means of destruction from the white people, the hearts of the Bechuanas could think of nothing hut the calamities which awaited them.
Hitherto, by the providence of God, it had been our lot only to view the dire effects of war at a distance from our station; which induced us to hope that the escape of our people would have a salutary influence on their minds. But dark and intricate are the ways of Providence; for our hopes were soon blasted by a civil war, which acquired such magnitude as to oblige us speedily to abandon the station, and retire to Griqua Town, which could scarcely he considered an asylum from the conflicting parties who surrounded us. The Batlapis professed to assist the Batlaros against the lawless banditti whose rendezvous was in the Long Mountains, to the west; but instead of doing so only seized on their cattle. This act of treachery excited the indignation of the Bat¬ laros: they made reprisals; and, as in all such cases, bloodshed followed rapine. A public meeting was convened, to which the Batlaros chiefs were invited, when every exertion was made to bring the parties to an amicable agreement, and prevent the widening of the breach. At the request of both parties, I spoke at the meeting. My address was only a short speech on the blessings of peace, and the certain fearful results of a civil war, especially while a lion, fiercer than either party, was couching in the mountains, ready to pounce on them both. Mothihi had neither the wisdom, honesty, nor decision, to order his people to resign their ill-gotten spoil, while he and his friends were candid enough to acknowledge that they had brought themselves into the distressing dilemma.
The Batlaros returned mortified, and held up Mothibi to derision in their dance and song; and he again resolved to muster his warriors, and punish them for these puerile displays of ill-will. When Mothihi communicated his intention, I pleaded, reasoned, and remonstrated against the measure, as fraught with ruin. As he wished one or more of our men to accompany him, I consulted the brethren, Hamilton and Hughes, and replied that it was our conviction that evil, instead of good, would accrue
from such a measure. All knew that hitherto we had kept ourselves from all interference in their political affairs, except when we thought we could be the means of promoting peace, and preventing the effusion of blood. Thus far, as the servants of God, we could proceed, but no farther. I again entreated him for the sake of his people, their wives and little ones, not to take a step which was fraught with consequences of an appalling nature, and which would terminate in the suspension of our labours among them, and their being scattered like the hunted deer on the plains. We appealed to all present, whether our counsel, as the servants of Christ, had in any one instance failed to secure to them the blessings of peace; and concluded by recommending them rather to flee towards Griqua Town than enter upon civil war. To this Mothibi replied, with an air of scorn, that the Griquas, who were nurtured under the Gospel, were involved in war; that the heads of the banditti they dreaded were Griquas, and subjects of the Griqua government; and that the Batlaros were his subjects, and they despised his threatenings on the ground that the missionaries would prevent him from taking harsh measures; but that he was determined to make them feel. After making some exceedingly severe remarks on our conduct, for our not first reforming the Griquas, and especially Jacob Cloete and Klass Drayer, the heads of the marauders, and once professors of religion, he went away in a rage.
Next morning he returned with some chief men, and, having had time to reflect on the counsel given him, was as meek as possible, and begged that, as I thought I could prevent a battle, I would accompany him to the Batlaros. This I engaged to do if he would allow me first to remove my family to the brethren at our new station, which would require two or three days. I also recommended an embassy, and not an armed force, as 1 was too well acquainted with the Bechuana character, to expect that they would conduct themselves in a way calculated to win the affections of the justly offended Batlaros, who, to revenge their wrongs, would undoubtedly call in the assistance of the horde from the mountains.
The commando, thirsting for spoil, set off the next day, leaving Mothibi behind. The result of this was the devastation of the towns and villages of the Bat¬ laros, who fled at their approach. The temporary house at the new station being ready, I removed my family thither. Two days after, when Mr. Hamilton and myself were down at the town, to bring away some useful articles, we stopped the night; and as the country was full of alarming reports, Mothibi and some of his men came and spent the evening with us, in one of our old reed houses, around a fire on a clay floor, without either tables or chairs. Much conversation and dispute ensued as to the cause of the present distracted state of the country, and the best means to be adopted to avoid becoming involved in the threatened ruin. Mothibi again asserted, in his usual angry tone, that the heads of the banditti of the country were Griquas, and that they were our friends and servants, whom we could command, and with whom we had constant intercourse: moreover, that these Griquas were supy)lied with guns and ammunition by the colonists, for the purpose of extirpating the Bechuanas! We explained the relation in which
we, as well as the people of Griqua Town, stood to the rebels in the mountains; and that they might yet see that we were as much afraid of those he called our friends as he was; and again solemnly brought before him the indifference of the Bechuanas, and even their hatred to the Gospel of Christ, as a fact which gave us very little reason to hope for that deliverance which had been so singularly displayed on their behalf on former occasions.
After holding our evening worship, we begged, in case of approaching danger, that they would flee in the direction of our station, as it might prove an asylum, especially to the females and children. At this they scoffed and raged, telling us to go and convert the Griquas; and thus left us, not knowing whether the enemy might approach before morning, or if the natives, in their anger, might not set fire to our reed dwelling.
The day after our return home, we heard the re¬ ports of muskets, and from the immense columns of smoke arising, we were convinced that many of the towns and villages were on fire. We continued some hours in sad suspense, during which the women and children were passing to the east; but some, faint from exhaustion and terror, remained at our dwellings, while the more vigorous of the sex were press¬ ing forward with trembling steps, in all directions. Mothibi also came, dejected and forlorn, and related, with many a sigh, the melancholy events of the day. At his urgent request we sent our four men on horse¬ back, hoping that they might be able to deliver a message to the heads of the commando, and thereby prevent further devastation. They went, and were instantly snrroanded by thirty horsemen, and one had his hat shot off his head, which compelled them to make a precipitate retreat, while several of the ]3echuanas, who accompanied them, were killed.
Our situation became ten times more precarious than ever, having now discovered that their numbers were formidable, and that they had butchered hundreds in cold blood, and committed acts of horrid barbarity in cutting off* the hands of the women in order the more easily to remove from their arms the rings which they wore. Some prisoners who had escaped gave us, moreover, every reason to expect that they would attack our station with the hope of obtaining ammunition. Though this was a hackneyed threat, the appearance of our men, and their ignorance of our motives for allowing them to go, did not leave the shadow of a doubt on our minds that our situation was a dangerous one, particularly as all the natives were ffeeing, and we could expect little quarter from the heterogeneous mass of Griquas, Bastards from the Colony, Namaquas, Corannas, Bushmen, and Batlaros, which composed the banditti. After much deliberation and prayer for Divine guidance, we felt, however reluctant, we ought to pack up during the night the most useful of our goods, that Mr. Hughes and myself, with our families, should leave on the coming morning; while Mr. Hamilton, who was without family, and one man, should remain, with a couple of horses, in case of danger, till wagons should be sent to his assistance from Daniel’s Kuil.
To us the sabbath was not a day of rest; but though we hung our harps upon the willows, we were enabled to wrestle with God in prayer for the poor
Becliuanas, who appeared to be given over to infatuation; and thousands of whom were scattered on the lonely desert pinched with hunger, and threatened with misery, famine, and death. Many females, lame with walking, and some near the time of their confinement, had sought refuge in our houses, while others had sunk under accumulated toil. It was deeply affecting to look on such objects of pity, while we could render them little assistance.
After five cheerless days we reached Griqua Town, where Mr. Sass received us with much feeling, having provided houses for our accommodation, and sent wagons and oxen to our assistance. Meanwhile, Mr. Hamilton was joined by a party of Berend’s men from Daniel’s Kuil, who remained for upwaixls of a fortnight. On the alarm and apprehensions of the people subsiding, Mr. H. came to Griqua Town to inform us that all was quiet, and that the Becliuanas were anxious for our return. Though a temporary tranquillity existed at the Kuruman, the prospect before us was dark in the extreme; and as in case of another attack, it was found impossible, from the state of affairs among the Griquas, to expect help from that quarter, we thought it better not to return with our goods to the station. The interior tribes were, according to the most authentic information, all in commotion, deluging the country with blood, appearing to depend for their support on the destruction of others. The powerful and hitherto invincible Bauangketsi were dispersed by a combined force, and Makaba had been slain in the midst of heaps of warriors. In the south-east, the Batau and Legoyas were proceeding in the same destructive course. The Wesleyan mission at Makuase was also broken up, and the missionaries retired to the Colony.
Such commotions were unknown within the memory of the oldest native. Tradition could give us no parallel. They existed as far northward as our knowledge of the tribes extended. It now appeared the more evident that had not the Mantatees been defeated at Old Lithako, the Bechuana country, Griqua Land, and the Orange River, would have been swept of their inhabitants, — the savage conquerors would have been formidable enemies to the Colony, and in all probability would have fallen by thousands before the sweeping bomb or rocket, — while the scattered remains of the aborigines must either have perished in the deserts, or fallen under the iron yoke of their neighbours. Many tribes, once power¬ ful and prosperous, but now almost extinct, lend their testimony to the truth of these remarks, and from which we gathered this comfort, that, bad as our circumstances were, they might have been worse; and thus, though troubled on every side, we were not distressed; perplexed, but not in despair.
In the following month I returned with my family to join Mr. Hamilton, when the prospect of not being able to obtain any thing like grain or vegetables, rendered it necessary for Mr. Hughes to visit the Colony for that purpose. The Bechuanas had still consider¬ able quantities of native millet, which they were expecting to reap, but which was greatly injured by two dreadful storms of hail passing over a portion of their gardens. Such was the noise ol the hail, that though there was much lightning, and consequently heavy thunder, it was not heard. Although only
what is called the tail of the storm passed over our station, the hail, which was nearly half the size of a hen’s egg, barked the trees, and killed some lambs.
On the 30th of March, 1825, we were deeply affected to hear of the death of Peclu, the young prince. This unexpected shock threw a gloom over the whole tribe, and was, as might have been expected, a severe stroke to his parents, who were dotingly fond of him, particularly since his visit to the Cape. To us it was a mysterious event: we had been promising ourselves that his excellent disposition and comparatively enlightened mind would eventually produce a salutary change among his countrymen; but God saw fit, for wise reasons, to deprive us of that means, that we might not be found trusting in an arm of flesh. He died of what is called kuatsi, a disease that appears to be endemial, which assumes the form of a carbuncle, and carries off many cattle; and as the natives will on no account abstain from eating the dead meat, they are often attacked by it. If it happens to be near a vital part, as in the case of Peclu, it is very frequently fatal; if internal and not suppurating outwardly, it is always so. The meat of goats which have died of this disease is particularly noxious, and I have known persons cut off in five days after having eaten it. It is always accompanied by considerable swelling, attended with great stupor, though with comparatively little pain. I write from experience, having had one on my right eyebrow, which gave my constitution a severe shock; and from its position my recovery was considered very doubtful. From long observation, I have found it important to give aperient medicines, scarify the ])ustules, and get some one to suck it, either with an instrument or the mouth, and to apply any kind of cataplasm to promote a discharge; it is also important as much as possible to prevent the individual from being exposed to the cold air.
In this disorder, as in every other, wdien a person of influence is taken ill or dies, the cause is eagerly sought after, not in the nature of the disease, but in some person wdio was at enmity with the deceased, or who had acted in some way to excite suspicion. This was very natural in them, as they did not believe in an overruling Providence. It was the universal belief, as well as their wash, that men would live ahvay, and that death was entirely the result of witchcraft, or medicine imparted by some malignant hand, or of some casualty or want of food. The death pf the poor excited but little sorrow, and less surmise; on the other hand, I have knowm instances when the domestics of a principal man have been murdered in cold blood, just because it was suspected that they had something to do with their master’s sickness. Approaching the abode of a sick chief,
I was informed by one of his attendants, wdth an air of satisfaction, that he would now recover, as twm of his servants wdio had been seen scattering more (medicine) somewdiere in the neighbourhood of his dwelling, had just been speared; and while he yet spoke the stifled sighs and moans of their widows and children were entering my ears. This chief is now’^ a Christian.
When Peclu died, suspicion fell on the parents of his bride, from some little misunderstanding which had existed at his mai’riage. They would all have
been butchered had not the more enlightened views of Mahura, the king’s brother, who had received orders to carry the bloody purpose into effect, induced him to apprise the chief and his family of their danger, that they might flee to the Barolongs, which they did. Mahura and his warriors pursued, but determined not to overtake them. As the law of retaliation was a principle of jurisprudence recognised by the Bechuana rulers, events like those recorded were of almost daily recurrence during the first years of the mission, but which now rarely happen, even for hundreds of miles beyond the missionary stations. Thus the Gospel, which has brought the startling sound of immortality to the savage ear, exerts, as a secondary benefit, a salutary influence even among those who do not receive it, and who remain comparatively ignorant of its chief requirements. There are now instances of judicial inflictions, which, though not characterized by the long digested jurisprudence of civilized countries, are nevertheless immense improvements; and as the influence of the Gospel ex¬ tends, it will transform the dictates of savage ferocity into measures suggested by mercy and wisdom.
Peclu died, and his disconsolate parents and friends sorrowed without hope, and, agreeably to their notions, hated the sight of the fold in which he was interred, the house where he had dwelt, the streets and lanes where he was wont to be seen, and indeed every thing associated with the beloved object. This prepared the people for what followed, for though they had returned to the town, the hearts of the relations of the deceased longed to abandon it. While witnessing these trying and mysterious providences, we were often deeply afflicted, to see that all our eflbrts to induce them to improve these dispensations were of no avail. “Go and teach the marauders not to destroy us,” was constantly thrown in our teeth. We much needed Divine grace to enable us to per¬ severe; but it often afforded us strong consolation to know that we were remembered in our native land; and that multitudes of voices were ever ascending to the throne of God on our behalf. We continued our public services, and when the people would not come to us we went to them.
About this time another powerful body from the Oi ‘ange River, with horses and guns, made an attack on the tribes to the westward of our station, and perpetrated great cruelties. The people again tied in consternation, and, at Mothibi’s request, a messenger was despatched to Griqua Town, entreating assistance; but it was not in the power of Waterboer to afford it, however willing he might have been to do so. As we had suffered greatly both in our health and property by the last flight, and as we had no confidence in the old tale which the natives in¬ vented, that the enemy would attack us, we resolved to remain at our post. We were encouraged in this by the arrival of Mr. Hughes, with Mr. Millen, a mason, and a few Hottentots from Bethelsdorp, to assist us in the public works of the new station. We harricadoed the reed walls of Mr. Hamilton’s house with chests and sacks, that, in case of an attack, which there was reason to apprehend, we might be in some measure shielded from the shot; but, after a few days of anxiety and alarm, the enemy dei)arted, contenting themselves with large spoils of cattle. The
natives had congregated round our temporary dwellings; and there being no prospect of a termination to the distressing inroads from the Orange River and Long Mountains, the people finally resolved to abandon the station. The Bushmen having taken many of their cattle, they appeared inclined to for¬ sake the Kuruman River altogether. The arrival of the six men and their families, under these circumstances, rendered our situation peculiarly trying, from the want of supplies to support them, especially in a country where nothing could be purchased. A hunter was employed to obtain game, while every thing, animate and inanimate, calculated in any mea¬ sure to appease hunger, was ravenously seized for that purpose, in order to prosecute our plan of building the houses, and leading out the water from the bed of the river, supplied by one of the finest fountains in South Africa. This was a work of great labour, and carried forward under the most embarrassing circumstances. Such was the liability to attack, that the men, though labouring not half a mile from our dwellings, found it necessary to take their guns with them for fear of a surprise. Our large water-ditch, extending nearly two miles, was indeed dug, as the walls of our houses had been built, “in troublous times.”
The accompanying sketch gives a correct view of Gasigonyane or Kuruman fountain. It issues from caverns in a little hill, wdiich is composed of blue and grey limestone, mixed with considerable quantities of flint, but not in nodules as found in beds of chalk. From the appearance of the caves, and the irregularity of the strata, one might be led to suppose they have
been the results of internal convulsions. The water, which is pure and wholesome, is rather calcareous. It is evident that its source must be at a very great distance, as all the rains which fall on the hills and plains for forty miles round, in one year, could not possibly supply such a stream for one month. Al¬ though there are no sandstone formations nearer than thirty miles, great quantities of exceedingly fine sand come from it, and it appears to boil up out of the smaller springs in front of the larger, and is to be found in deposit in the bed of the river for miles distant. The substratum of the whole of the country, as far as the Orange River, is compact limestone, which in some of the Hamhana hills rises consider¬ ably above the neighbouring plain; but these only form the basis of argillaceous hills and iron-schist, on the top of which the compass moves at ran¬ dom, or according to the position in wdiich it is placed. The strata of these schistose formations are often found to bend and curve into all shapes, frequently exhibiting an appearance of golden asbestos, but extremely hard. The common blue asbestos is to be found at Gamaperi, in the neighbourhood, the same as that found near the Orange River. The limestone extends to Old Lithako, where there are hills of basalt and primitive limestone; among w hich masses of serpentine rock, of various colours, usually called pipe-stone, are to be met wdth. Beyond the Batlapi dominions, towards the Molapo, there is abundance of granite green stone, etc., while the lime¬ stone foundation, towards the west, terminates among the sandy wilds of the southern Zahara. Fountains, throughout the whole extent of the limestone basin.
MR. HUGHES’s ILLNESS. are precarious, independent of the causes described in a preceding chapter; nor does that of the Kuruinan continue to send forth the torrents it once did. The calcareous effects of the water on the roots of reeds, and other substances, in the neighbourhood of small fountains, show that they were once very large. That of the Kuruman River, which, like many others in South Africa, is largest at its source, is, by evaporation and absorption, lost in its bed, about ten miles to the north-west. The Matluarin, Mashaua, and Molapo, join the Kuruman, which was once a large river, emptying itself into the Gariep, at a distance below the waterfall.
During this period we were the subjects of great domestic afflictions. Five days after Mrs. M.’s confinement of a boy, he was removed by death, and his remains were the first committed to the burying ground on the new station. JMr. Hughes, who began early to feel the effects of the climate, caught cold, while removine: fruit-trees from the lower station to his garden, and was brought to the very gates of death. AVhen, however, we had all given him up he began to amend; but such was the shock that his frame received from the severity of the disease, that his perfect recovery continued for a long time very doubtful; nor did he regain his wonted strength until he had made a visit to the coast, on account, of Mrs. Hughes’s health; after which he removed to the Griqua mission, in 1827, where he has since laboured with success.
Our situation during the infancy of the new station, I shall not attempt to describe, though it might yield some profitable suggestions to those who may be
similarly situated. Some of our newly arrived assistants, finding themselves in a country where the restraints of law were unknown, and not being under the influence of religion, would not submit to the privations which we patiently endured, but murmured exceedingly. Armed robbers were continually making inroads, threatening death and extirpation. We were compelled to work daily at every species of labour, most of which was very heavy, under a burning sun, and in a dry climate, where only one shower had fallen during the preceding twelve months. These are only imperfect samples of our engagements for several years at the new station, while at the same time, the language, which was entirely oral, had to be acquired. A spelling-book, catechism, and small portions of Scripture, were prepared, and even sent to the Cape to be printed in 1825; but, as if our measure of disappointment was not full, they were by some mistake sent to England, and before they could possibly return to our station, we might have had several improved editions.
The infection of war and plunder was such, that scarcely a tribe or town in the whole country was exempt. The Batlapis, who of all the neighbouring tribes had suffered the least, owing to their proximity to our station, instead of being thankful for this, authorized one of their number, the king’s brother, to go with a body of warriors and attack the out-posts of the Bauangketsi. They proceeded as far as the Barolongs, where they met with the Chief Gontse, who received and fed them, being related to the royal family of the Batlapis. Gontse, who was an amiable and sensible man, dissuaded them from such a daring attempt, which could only terminate in their destruction. The chief of the party, convinced of this, resolved on returning; but watching an opportunity, when the cattle of the town where they had received such hosy)itality and good counsel had gone to the fields, seized on them, and having two or three guns, compelled their owners to flee. Elated with the success of this disgraceful achievement, they returned to the neighbourhood of our station. We said nothing on the subject, except that our hearts were sad. The chief of this hand of robbers, induced his brother, Mothibi, to convene a public meeting, in order to make a kind of bravado. Spies and sycophants had been sent to hear our judgment on this subject, hut they learned nothing more or less than that ‘ ‘ we were sorry.” This having displeased him, after pointing out to the audience, that we missionaries were the only human beings in the world who did not steal cattle, he declared that, instead of being thereby awed, he would show them and the tribes around, that if his name had hitherto been Molala, (poor,) henceforth he would be a lion, and such should he his name. Thus he spoke, and departed with a company to hunt. One afternoon, seeing a giraffe in the distance, he seized his spear, mounted his horse, and ordered his attendant to follow with his gun on another. The master being on the swuftest animal, and evening coming on, he disappeared on the undulating plain, and the servant returned to the rendezvous. Next day, the latter, with some companions, pursued the trail, found where his master had come up with the giraffe, and appeared to have make attempts to stab it, and then, from the course he took, it was evident he had wandered. They slept, and with the returning
day continued to pursue his footmarks, Vvdiich in the evening brought them to a spot where a number of lions had been. Beside a bush, where they supposed the chieftain had laid himself down the second night, they found the horse, killed by the lions, but scarcely touched, while the man, his clothes, shoes, saddle and bridle, were eaten up, and nothing left but the cra¬ nium. What was rather remarkable, the master, seeing he was leaving his servant in the rear, turned about and gave him his tinder-box, for fear of losing it him¬ self. Had he retained this, he mnght have made a fire, which would have protected him from the lions, and led to his earlier discovery. This event was too striking to be overlooked by the people, who had frequently heard of a Divine Providence, but they were silent, and endeavoured to relieve their minds, by driving from their memories the visage and vain boastings of him, who had been devoured by the very beast of prey whose name and powers were to be his motto, and the characteristics of his future actions.
The Batlapis continued extremely unsettled; in¬ deed, the whole country appeared like the ocean in a storm; — its inhabitants like the waves, alternately rolling forward, and receding, carrying with them devastation and misery. Numerous successful com¬ mandos from the south wore out the spirits of the natives, and compelled them to lead a vagrant life, ready to start on the first alarm. Some of our Hottentot assistants also left us in the midst of our labours, and eventually a report coming from Griqualand, that Waterboer and Cornelius Kok, despairing of aid from the Colony, had joined the marauders, all were alarmed; and although we were able to convince them that the reports were unfounded, we coidd not allay their I’ears, so that even one who had formerly, by his Christian conduct, been a source of comfort, as well as an assistance in our work, abandoned us also. Thus we were left, but were still wonderfully supported, realizing the fulfilment of the gracious promise, “As thy days, so shall thy strength be.” Some of the poorer Bechuanas had learned a little of wagon driving, and other useful things, so that we could occasionally get some assistance from them.
After several years of drought, we had, in the early part of 1826, been blessed with plentiful rains, and the earth was speedily covered with verdure; but our hopes of abundance were soon cut off by swarms of locusts, which infested every part of the country, devouring every species of vegetation. They had not been seen for more than twenty years be¬ fore, but have never entirely left the country since. They might be seen passing over like an immense cloud, extending from the earth to a considerable height, producing, with their wings, a great noise. They always proceed nearly in the direction of the wind, those in advance descending to eat any thing they light upon, and rising in the rear, as the cloud advances. “They have no king, but they go forth, all of them, by bands,” and are gathered together in one place in the evening, where they rest, and from their immense numbers they weigh down the shrubs, and lie at times one on the other, to the depth of several inches. In the morning, when the sun begins to diffuse warmth, they take wing, leaving a large extent without one vestige of verdure; even the y)lants
and shrul)s are barked. Wherever they halt for the night, or alight during the day, they become a prey to other animals, and are eaten not only by beasts of prey, but by all kinds of game, serpents, lizards, and frogs. When passing through the air, kites, vultures, crows, and particularly the locust bird, as it is called, may be seen devouring them. When a swarm alights on gardens, or even fields, the crop for one season is destroyed. I have observed a field of young maize devoured in the space of two hours. They eat not only tobacco, and every thing vegetable, but also flannel and linen. The natives embrace every opportunity of gathering them, which can be done during the night. Whenever the cloud alights at a place not very distant from a town, the inhabitants turn out with sacks, and often with pack-oxen, gather loads, and return the next day with millions. It has happened that, in gathering them, individuals have been bitten by serpents; and on one occasion a woman had been travelling several miles with a large bundle of locusts on her head, when a serpent, which had been put into the sack with them, found its way out. The woman supposing it to be a thong dangling about her shoulders, laid hold of it with her hand, and feeling that it was alive, instantly precipitated both to the ground, and fled. The locusts are prepared for eating, by simple boiling, or rather steaming, as they are put into a large pot with a little water, and covered closely up; after boiling for a short time, they are taken out and spread on mats in the sun to dry, when they are winnowed, something like corn, to clear them of their legs and wings; and when perfectly dry, are put into sacks, or laid upon the house floor in a hoop. The natives eat them whole, adding a little salt when they can obtain it; or they pound them in a wooden mortar, and when they have reduced them to something like meal, they mix them with a little water, and make a kind of cold stir-about.
When locusts abound, the natives become quite fat, and would even reward any old lady who said that she had coaxed them to alidit within reach of the inhabitants. They are, on the whole, not had food; and when hunger has made them palatable, are eaten as matter of course. When well fed they are almost as good as shrimps. There is a species not eatable, with reddish wings, rather larger than those described, and which, though less numerous, are more destructive. The exploits of these armies, fear¬ ful as they are, bear no comparison to the devastation they make before they are able to fly, in which state they are called boyane.” They receive a new name in every stage of their growth, till they reach maturity, when they are called “letsie.” They never emerge from the sand, where they were deposited as eggs, till rain has fallen to raise grass for the young progeny. In their course, from which nothing can divert them, they aypear like a dark red stream extending often more than a mile broad; and from their incessant hopping, the dust appears as if alive. Nothing but a broad and rayid torrent could arrest their progress, and that only by drowning them; and if one reached the opposite shore, it would keep the original direction. A small rivulet avails nothing, as they swim dexterously. A line of tire is no barrier, as they leap into it till it is extinguished, and the others walk over the dead. Walls and
houses form no impediment; they climb the very chimneys, either obliquely or straight over such obstacles, just as their instinct leads them. All other earthly powers, from the fiercest lion to a marshalled army, are nothing compared with these diminutive insects. The course they have followed is stripped of every leaf or blade of verdure. It is enough to make the inhabitants of a village turn pale to hear that they are coming in a straight line to their gardens. When a country is not extensive, and is bounded by the sea, the scourge is soon over, the winds carrying them away like clouds to the watery waste, where they alight to rise no more. Thus the immense flights which pass to the south and east, rarely return, but fresh supplies are always pouring down from the north. All human endeavours to diminish their numbers, would appear like attempt¬ ing to drain the ocean by a pump.
We could not, however, feel otherwise than thank¬ ful for this visitation, on account of the poor; for as many thousands of cattle had been taken from the natives, and gardens to an immense extent destroyed, many hundreds of families, but for the locusts, must have perished with hunger. It was not surprising that our scanty supplies which we were compelled to procure from a distance, were seized by the hungry people. If our oxen or calves were allowed to wander out of sight, they were instantly stolen. One day two noted fellows from the mountains came down on a man who had the charge of our cattle, murdered him, and ran off with an ox. Some time before, the whole of our calves disappeared; two of our men went in pursuit, and found in the ruins of an old town the remains of the calves laid aside for future use. On tracing the footmarks to a secluded spot near the river, they found the thieves, two desperatelooking characters, who, seizing their bows and poisoned arrows, dared their approach. It would have been easy for our men to have shot them on the spot, hut their only object was to bring them, if possible, to the station. After a dangerous scuffle, one fled, and the other precipitated himself into a pool of water, amidst reeds, where he stood menacing the men with his drawn bow, till they at last succeeded in seizing him. He was brought to the station, with some of the meat, which, though not killed in the most delicate manner, was acceptable, and was the first veal we ever ate there; for calves are too valuable in that country to be slaughtered, not only because they perpetuate the supply of milk from the cow, but are reared to use in travelling and agriculture.
The prisoner had a most forbidding appearance, and we could not help regarding him as a being brutalized by hunger; and, in addition to a defect in vision, he looked like one capable of perpetrating any action without remorse. His replies to our queries and expostulations, were something like the growlings of a disappointed hungry beast of prey. There were no authorities in the country to which we could appeal, and the conclusion to which the people came, was to inflict a little castigation, while one of the natives was to whisper in his ear, that he must flee for his life. Seeing a young man drawing near with a gun, he took to his heels, and the man firing a charge of loose powder after him, increased his terror, and made him bound into the marsh, and flee
to the opposite side, thinking himself well off to have escaped with his life, which he could not have expected from his own countrymen. He lived for a time at a neighbouring village, where he was wont to describe, in graphic style, his narrow escape, and how he had outrun the musket-balh When told by some one that the gun was only to frighten him, he saw that it must have been so; he reasoned on our character, made inquiries, and, from our men sparing him in the first instance, and ourselves giving him food, and allowing him to run off after he had received a few strokes with a thong, he concluded that there must be something very merciful about our character; and at last he made his appearance again on our station. He was soon after employed as a labourer, embraced the Gospel, and has, through Divine grace, continued to make a consistent profession, and is become an example of intelligence, industry, and love.