“Allow me to mention that I have the honour to represent at this port—Swedish and Norwegian Vice-Consul, Danish Vice-Consul, American Consular Agent, and Lloyd’s Agent.
“G. C. Cato.”
From the above letter it will be observed what a strong desire there was for trade with the province of Mozambique, and an anxious inquiry as to the capabilities of the country, of which little is known even at Natal, and much less in the mother country. It is to be hoped that this work will supply the wants of the mercantile community as to information regarding the productions of this rich country, and also as to the proper means of establishing commercial relations on a healthy basis.
Various attempts have been made to establish trade between Natal and Delagoa Bay; and it is openly stated by the Portuguese at Delagoa Bay, that more Englishmen have perished in these attempts from the poisoned cup than from the deleterious climate. In England people may be startled at this statement, but the Natal people will be only too glad to hear that such a statement has gone forth to the world, as it may call for a searching inquiry into the fate of those who have perished, and give some hope that property, belonging to British subjects, now lying there, may be restored. Any one who will visit Delagoa Bay may make himself satisfied with the correctness of these statements; and, once for all, let it be said, that nothing is asserted in this work which, if an opportunity is given, cannot be proved.
I have already drawn attention to an able letter which appeared in the Natal Mercury, from Mr. G. W. Duncan,[2] of Natal, on his return from a trading voyage to Delagoa Bay. Not many months afterwards—viz., on the 15th of November, 1857, a small cutter named the “Herald,” of eleven tons burthen, set sail from Port Natal, duly registered, and licensed for a trading coast voyage. She was bound to the river King George, which discharges itself into Delagoa Bay. The cutter was commanded by Mr. G. W. Duncan, and his friend, Mr. Charles Hilliard, who had been on a former voyage with Mr. Duncan, accompanied him as mate. The crew consisted of three men.
To make this affair clearly understood, it will be necessary to explain that the southern extreme limit of the Portuguese claim to possession on the east coast of Africa was but ill defined until, in 1823, it was settled by Captain W. F. Owen, R.N., when making his remarkable survey of that coast. Without entering into minute details of the arrangement made on that occasion, which it will be found is fully entered into in another part of this work,[3] it will be necessary to state that a line drawn due west from Cape Iniack marks the boundary of the Portuguese and British possessions in that bay; the territory to the south of the said line having been ceded to the British government by the natives of the country in 1823. To the northward of that line lies that extensive and valuable tract of country claimed by the Portuguese, to which the natives everywhere dispute their right, and along which the Portuguese have, as already explained at the opening of this chapter, a few insular positions, from which they interfere with legitimate, and carry on slave, trade.
The mouth of the river King George, to which the cutter “Herald” was bound, is in Delagoa Bay, to the northward of the line already described, and, consequently, within the line of coast claimed by the Portuguese. The river King George is called by the natives Manakusi; they claim sole right of dominion over the river, and acknowledge no superior power but that of their king, Manakusi, and his subordinate chiefs.
It will be seen by the letter of Mr. Duncan, already referred to, that he was fully aware that the Portuguese, in the adjoining small settlement of Lourenço Marques, claimed the entrance to the river King George, and that they informed him, in reply to a request to trade there, that if he attempted to enter the river he was liable to seizure going in and coming out. Nevertheless, the “Herald,” on this voyage, entered the river from the sea, by a channel discovered by Mr. Duncan, and proceeded up it.
The object of the expedition was to open friendly relations with the natives; to engage a hunting party, and establish an ivory trade, for which purpose a piece of ground was to be purchased, and a wooden house built for a depôt of goods and ivory.