All is changed now—the country has been of late overrun by traders from the diamond-fields; Boers from the Transvaal, who have unscrupulously abused the native laws of Matabeleland, and made the king doubly severe on all who enter his dominions, and caused the Indunas to look upon all white men as dogs, which has damaged the prestige of the white man in the eyes of the natives, and Lo-Bengulu, who is ruled to a certain extent by them, cannot always do as he would wish. Natives are very susceptible of insult, and as the Boers treat all black men as dogs, and in some way insult them, which they do not forget, this has frequently brought the English traveller or hunter into trouble.
Lo-Bengulu respects the English nation, and has a loyal feeling towards her Majesty the Queen, and as all Bechuanaland has been brought under her protection, now is the time for the British Government to show this sable monarch and his people, by our acts in Bechuanaland, that England’s policy is not to exterminate the black man, but to protect, assist, and benefit him, which policy is the only one to bring Lo-Bengulu and his people into a better frame of mind regarding England’s views towards them, and the only course to eventually open up that country to civilisation. At the present time they fear a Boer invasion, and as they are renowned for their political sagacity, they will be too wise to offend the English people, who may shortly be living on their borders. But if Boers are allowed to settle in Bechuanaland then we may say farewell to peace in that region.
All now depends on the course the British Government adopt in this new protectorate. Lo-Bengulu and his Indunas, I believe, will not interfere or be troublesome on the border of this protectorate, if they see we respect the rights of the black man in the future of that country, and, instead of having the Matabele in any way troublesome, they will become our friends. I see a great future open for that country, which will materially benefit the native races, and be the means of developing that vast region now closed to British merchandise, for that is the great civilising power by teaching the native mind the advantages they will derive from commerce. Whatever cruelty Lo-Bengulu may perpetrate in his own country, will not extend further; he was brought up under the dreaded chief, his father, who ruled his people through their blood, for no other mode of governing them would have availed. But the people are beginning to understand the English ways, in the same manner as the Zulus do in Zululand.
Thursday, 21st May. Walked over to old John Viljoen’s waggon, where he was outspanned under some large trees surrounded by a thick bush, completely concealing the waggons from view; his son and a Boer were making kameel biltong, having shot one yesterday. He is now waiting for the weather to clear up, to have some elephant shooting, his son having seen eight, about six miles away, in the morning. Talking of elephant shooting, he said he had shot seventy-nine at different times, and he told me, a Scotchman, Mr Thackery, had shot ninety-nine, and in shooting the hundredth, when the animal laid apparently dead, he climbed up him over his head, when the elephant gave him a blow with his tusk and killed him on the spot. We arranged to go out together on Monday. He also told me he shot a python, a few days ago, measuring eighteen feet in length, and twenty-eight inches round; he saw several others, but they got away. On returning to the waggon I found a trader, Mr Mussenden, with his waggon outspanned close to it, who was surprised to see me, having long ago heard that I had been murdered by Bushmen up in the interior, that it was reported throughout all the country, and everything stolen; he said he had often heard of my being in the interior, and through the Desert, when he was up-country, but never expected to see me alive again, and was very glad we had met, as he often wished to know me. Many such reports get about of explorers and hunters being murdered or lost in the bush; and it requires great care to avoid some of these dangers in so extensive a region, particularly to those who have not the bump of locality. When leaving your waggon, in the saddle or on foot, before starting, be particular to take bearings of mountains or any prominent objects. When the sun is perpendicular at mid-day, it is difficult to know the north from the south, and if you have left your compass behind, those unaccustomed to be in a wooded region soon become confused as to the direction to be taken to regain their waggon. Several, whom I knew, have lost their lives in this way, and were never heard of more. A young man, William Hancock, I had with me as my driver, when outspanned in a level country, with dense bush, took his gun early in the morning to look after game, and never returned all that day, and night coming on, I began to fear for his safety; the whole of that night I was in a fearful state of alarm, firing shot after shot to let him know our position, but no reply; I got no sleep that night. At daybreak I saddled-up and started in the direction he took, firing shots frequently, and I sent my loop-boy out in another direction. After calling and shouting until nearly losing my voice, up to 2 p.m., a distant report came to my last shot; starting off in the direction at as great a speed as I could make in the thick forest for at least a mile, I fired again, when a reply came at no great distance. Going towards it and shouting, I heard a faint voice in amongst the trees, and Hancock came towards me; he was nearly demented, and looked as if he had grown ten years older. Before asking any questions, I gave him a flask full of brandy and water, and some biscuits which I brought with me. He told me he had been in a pursuit of a koodoo he had wounded, and in the chase had lost the direction of the waggon, and in his endeavour to reach it had wandered in the opposite direction and became so confused that he did not know where he was, firing off his rifle at times to let us know, but the distance prevented the reports being heard, and as night came on he gave himself up as lost, and climbed a tree, where he passed the night, as many lions were about; some of them came almost under the tree. In the morning he got down, fired off several shots, until he had only two charges left. He said his anxiety made him lose his strength, and from want of water and food he was nearly exhausted, and when he heard the report of my rifle he felt he was saved from death, and obtained renewed strength and fired his last cartridge, which brought me to him. Mounting him in the saddle, we returned to the waggon, distant at least four miles. Now this young man, born in the Colony, accustomed all his life to being out in the open air after game, had no knowledge of taking bearings from time to time, to see the direction he was going; the poor boy—for he was only nineteen—felt he had gained a new life. I gave him a few lessons on woodcraft for his future guidance if placed in a similar position. He was a most willing lad and of great assistance to me in my wanderings; he was a son of one of the early settlers of 1820.
Finally, we may conclude, in leaving this region, that the knowledge already obtained of the richness of the Matabele and Mashona country by exploring parties that have been allowed to prospect, only in certain districts, and by others who have travelled through it in other parts, and from my own observations, there is not a shadow of a doubt that eventually this part of the continent will surpass all others in Southern Africa as a gold-producing district, in the cultivation of cotton, and other valuable products, that cannot but prove most beneficial to the power who may obtain it; and to the benefit of its people, instead of its remaining in its present barbarous state, where the slaughter of its inhabitants depends on the present whims of its despotic monarch.
From what has already been discovered of its richness, we see plainly the ancients, who extracted the gold, have only done so to a limited extent—what may be termed surface workings; for their numerous pits, after all, are mere scratches in the ground at places, but when they are properly worked and greater depth attained, the mines may be found almost inexhaustible. And if the gold-dust, found in the sand of the rivers, can be procured by a few single washings from a small dish, what may be expected when the whole of these rivers have been properly worked?