on>THROUGH THE
KALAHARI DESERT
by
G. A. FARINI
THROUGH THE KALAHARI DESERT
LONDON:
PRINTED BY GILBERT AND RIVINGTON, LIMITED,
ST. JOHN’S SQUARE
THE AUTHOR.
“LULU,” THE ARTIST
THROUGH THE KALAHARI DESERT
A NARRATIVE OF A JOURNEY WITH GUN
CAMERA, AND NOTE-BOOK TO LAKE
N’GAMI AND BACK
BY
G. A. FARINI
FORTY-SIX ILLUSTRATIONS (MOSTLY FROM PHOTOGRAPHS), DIAGRAM, AND MAP
London
SAMPSON LOW, MARSTON, SEARLE, & RIVINGTON
CROWN BUILDINGS, 188, FLEET STREET
1886
[All rights reserved]
INTRODUCTION.
Most authors, either in preface or introduction, apo- logize for what is to follow; and no doubt, where they have had to make many calls upon the indulgence of the public, something of this sort is necessary. But, as this is my first infliction of the kind, I hardly think an apology is required. In fact, were I put to it, I doubt if I could discover any adequate excuse for my presumption. So I shall leave the reader to find all the fault, instead of doing it for him, under the guise of an apologia.
A statement, however, of the reasons which prompted me to undertake the journey of which this book is a record, and an introduction to my travelling com- panions, are the reader’s due; so I shall now proceed to accomplish that task.
A year or so ago I brought under the notice of the public a party of Earthmen from the Kalahari. These people were accompanied by an old half-breed hunter, Kert by name, who, having acquired a smattering of their language, which bears a strong resemblance to that of the Bushmen, acted as interpreter.
Kert’s account of the grass-covered plains and
Introduction.
fertile savannas and forests, teeming with game of all sorts, gave the Kalahari the character of a hunter’s paradise, instead of the barren desert which it has always been represented to be. Furthermore, he assured me that he knew a certain place where he had found diamonds—one weighing 188 carats. At first I did not quite credit this statement, but later on going through some of the Earthmen’s things, looking for poison, I found several diamonds, a fact which, to a certain extent, corroborated old Kert’s tale. A change of climate being necessary to recoup my health, I decided to go to Africa and take old Kert with me, and test his story.
But such an expedition could not well be undertaken without the aid of a trustworthy companion, and I knew of but one upon whom I could rely with implicit confidence. This was the person who figures in the following pages under the name of “Lulu.”
The public requires no introduction to Lulu,” who some years ago startled them with several novel feats of skill and daring; and who is now following his profession of portrait painter and photographer in Bridgeport, America.
At the time when I determined on my trip. Lulu was with me in America; and it was with much difficulty that I persuaded him to agree to accompany me. When, however, I represented to him what splendid opportunities he would have of obtaining new photographic views and effects, he entered heartily into the idea, and secured all the latest improvements in portable photographic appliances, sketch-books, &c.;
Introduction.
and we sailed without delay for England, and thence for Cape Town.
Before leaving America I visited my cattle-ranche, when one of my partners hearing me repeat Kert’s glowing description of the Desert, suggested that I might do worse than secure a large tract of land there for cattle-ranching purposes. Here, then, was a fresh inducement to visit the country; and diamonds and cattle-ranches thus became the motive of my journey and the basis of this book.
We obtained letters of introduction to all the leading men of the colony, including Sir Hercules Robinson, K.C.M.G., Sir Charles Warren, G.C.M.G., Colonel Schermbrücker, and others; but, finding that somehow or other Kert’s story about the diamonds had leaked out, we took our passage under assumed names.
This expedition afforded us the further advantage that it gave us an opportunity of hearing very frank expressions of opinion about ourselves from different passengers on board the Roslin Castle, One gentleman in particular told me a story of how he had made “that stingy fellow, Farini, stand drinks; a thing he had never been known to do before”—a story which natu- rally gave me a much worse opinion of Farini than I had previously entertained.
On the way out, we made the acquaintance of the charming Misses Sauer, and their married sister, the accomplished Mrs. Caldecott; and on our arrival at Cape Town were introduced to Dr. Sauer and Mr. Caldecott, and to Colonel Schermbrücker, the Minister for Public Works, to whom I had a letter of recom-
Introduction.
mendation from Sir Charles Mills, K.C.M.G., the Agent-General for Cape Colony in London, and who gave us an open letter of introduction to all the Com- missioners and Magistrates of the districts we might pass through, requesting them to afford us all the assistance in their power.
Our few days’ stay in Cape Town was spent most pleasantly. Dinners were eaten and visits were paid everywhere. The drives were very enjoyable when the “south-easter” did not blow. One of the most pleasant was over the ironstone road to Constantia, to pay a visit to Mr. Cloete, the celebrated wine-grower—one of the old-style Dutch, and a most charming host,—who has the best kept and cleanest place I saw in all Africa. Another delightful drive was along the foot of the Lion’s Back Mountain to the residence of Captain Morrison, the jolliest Scotchman I ever met, and one of the institutions of “ Malayville,” Cape Town.
Meantime Lulu spent many days on Table Mountain, and obtained some very beautiful views, which, along with many others taken during the ,trip, were exhibited at the recent Photographic Exhibition in London, and afterwards at the meeting of the Berlin Geographical Society, on November 7th, 1885, when I read a paper, in German, on m}^ journey through the Kalahari, as well as before the Royal Geographical Society of England, on March 8th, 1886, when my paper was read, with the Marquis of Lorne in the chair.
The whole of the illustrations in this book are from photographs taken by Lulu, with the single exception of that showing the great “Hercules” Fall, on the
Introduction.
