The travelling party has its specific rules. One of the travellers becomes the leader, so to speak, whose directions the others have to follow and who is also accountable to his national tribe for the travelling companions. When a travelling company has gathered, the provisions are attended to. Each of the travellers is obliged to take along a portion of the journey’s food. Mostly it consists of a quantity of about 10–15 pounds of Kaffir corn [sorghum] or flour. Only one cooking pot and one drinking vessel, often only one ox horn, is required for all of them. Also, those who are in a position to do so provide some money for the trip. They start out with food for the journey in a little bag, or also, as I have seen myself, in an old trouser leg, which was tied up at the end, also a sleeping blanket, maybe prepared from a skin, and all this tightly tied together and carried on the shoulder, so that it almost assumes the longish form of a so-called ‘Berliner’ of the German artisan.
If a believing Christian is among the company, he will never leave his Bible, reading book or hymn book at home, that is, if he had been able to acquire such books before then. Books are the pride and joy of believing men.
In the company, one will always find someone who is supplied with fire, be it a glowing piece of wood or a piece of dry cow dung.
It is their custom to march along like geese, that is, one behind the other. Even on wagon trails, which are wide, one often finds them walking in this way. Already from their youth they have become accustomed to walking in this manner, since the paths that run through their gardens are only wide enough for one person.
On the first day . . . after they have covered a distance of maybe six to seven German miles [45–53 kilometres], they look out for a night shelter, which is always under the open sky. Even when they want to spend the night in the proximity of a Kaffir kraal, they seek out a night camp outside the village. Such night camps are different, depending on the surroundings in which they happen to find themselves. If they are in the bushveld, that is, in an area covered with trees, they know how to make it quite pleasant for themselves. Wood is carried to camp from all directions and a fire is lit, so that the flame shines far into the night. On the one hand, the fire is kept so large in order not to feel the cold of the night too badly, on the other hand, to keep away lions and other dangerous animals in such areas where these still live. While the rest sit closely around the fire, the hands mostly stretched out to the same and engaged in lively conversation about ‘nothing’, the youngest of the company are busy preparing supper, which consists simply of Kaffir corn without any garnish.
When they have eaten, it is time to go to sleep. If they managed to find a prepared sleeping place, in other words, one where earlier travellers had already made a type of hedge from branches of thorn trees to ward off the wind or also wild animals, it is more pleasant for them; otherwise, however, a camp without it will also suffice. Some may gather a little grass that they will use as a bottom layer; most of them, however, have no desire for a bottom layer. The sleeping blanket or skins are rolled out; one person lies down to sleep close to the other, the feet directed towards the fire. Often several persons cover themselves together with their blankets and thus they give themselves over to sleep, unperturbed by the hyenas and jackals howling close by. Only when the king of the animals makes his voice heard will the fire be kindled to a brighter flame with the wood that was collected the previous evening. Otherwise, every now and then, one of the sleepers will get up to keep the fire burning.
Before daybreak, which they recognise accurately by the rising of different stars, especially of Venus, which they simply call ‘the star’, we find one or the other, for whom the night became too long, sitting at the fire again. The last of the sleepers only get up after the sun has spread its warming rays over the sleeping place.
It is completely different when they have to wander during the rainy season. Then the poor, scantily dressed wanderers are truly to be pitied. Already half-frozen, with a wet and black shining skin from the rain, they come wandering along. Their desire is to find a shelter and often they are also successful. But what is it made of? There in the open field is a hut, which consists of some sticks, which are dug into the ground a little, but which are tapered to the inside at the top and tied together with flax or grass and covered with bushes and grass, which is supposed to represent the roof. This hut has to serve as accommodation for them, as it has served many others previously. On the outside of the hut, a type of furrow was made, so as not to let the rain water flow towards their sleeping place with full force. The wind howls into it, finding its exit again on the opposite side. Neither is the roof any protection against the pouring rain and understandably such a night provides little refreshment.
A night camp on the highveld can become even worse, yes, life-threatening. The temperature is far colder than in the low-lying bushveld and in addition there is no firewood to be found far or near for protection against the cold.
Winter is usually the time in which a cloud is seldom seen in the sky and, although by day there is the most pleasant travelling weather, up to 20 degrees Réaumur [25 degrees Celsius] and above, it becomes so cold with sundown that the earth is covered with frost and the water freezes into ice. If in such a time, the heaven covers itself with clouds and they empty their contents in the form of rain or even snow, it is not unusual for travellers to freeze to death. Warm food cannot be prepared, for lack of burning material. The dung of cattle that grazed here that is otherwise used as burning material is totally drenched and unusable.
The company starts on the new day’s march, without having cooked food. By 11 o’clock, they rest, at which time the breakfast is prepared. On a journey that I undertook on horseback, I unsaddled in the proximity of one such resting group. After I had eaten bread for sustenance, which the mission sisters had given me, I approached the travellers to have a conversation with them. One of them was busy preparing the meal. He took out a little bag of flour, while another one put down water, which he had just drawn. Several tin cups stood ready; a little flour was poured into each one, then cold water was poured on top and stirred. Thus the prepared food was dished out for the meal. I was also handed such a portion. However, I declined, with the words that I had just eaten.
Among all local national tribes it is custom that they always invite one who comes to them during mealtime to eat, an offer that is seldom refused.
As mentioned above already, the leader and, in the second place, also the rest of the wanderers, bear responsibility for everybody in the company.
If one of the co-travellers becomes ill and cannot continue, all the travellers are obliged to stay put for at least one day. If no improvement has come on the second day, they try to accommodate the sick one if possible with people living nearby, or one of the travellers has to remain behind to help, while the others may travel on. They don’t only care for their sick along the way, but also during their time of working. If a close relative of a sick person is there, he is primarily responsible for the care, even payment for the doctor and medicine, if a doctor has been called for assistance. However, if there is no close relative, the responsibility rests with the travelling companions, or also on his countrymen. Should someone fall away through death, the abovementioned also have to come up with the funeral costs, which, when the funeral is simple, is very minimal (one Mark).
In the course of time, the provisions also get depleted (the distance from here to the diamond fields is about four weeks by foot). Then those who have money have to help out, open their bag, or rather roll open their little cloth, in which they have folded up their money, to buy food. Often, however, they try to work for food for one or a few days at the place of a Boer or farmer. And the closer they come to their final destination, the more often it is necessary to let one shilling after the other pass over into the hands of others. Not only food, but also fuel, yes even cooking and drinking water, have to be paid for sometimes.
Some of those who started out together remain behind to accept work here or there; the majority, however, who hoped to receive more wages further down the line than what had been offered them on the way, move into the long-awaited city of diamonds, where they perhaps rest a day from the journey’s hardships, to then begin their work.
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