Read Online At the Fireside--Volume 1 by Roger Webster - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Roger Webster
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âNonsenseâ, he replied. âIâm hungry. Give me breakfast first, and then we will talk about blood.â
His appeal to traditional Boer hospitality did the trick. Over breakfast the aggression and suspicion gradually subsided and soon they were on friendly terms. Rhodes actually stayed in the Boer camp for a week and became godfather to De la Reyâs grandchild. Soon a deal was struck. Rhodes guaranteed the Boersâ possession of their farms and cattle and they in turn agreed to accept British rule. Once again the tribes, in this case the Batlaping, lost out on a deal struck between the British and the Boers.
Further north in Goshen, Montsioa was also getting the dirty end of the stick, eventually being forced to surrender practically all of his lands to the freebooters. Gey van Pittius took charge and declared the country Transvaal territory, whilst S J du Toit hoisted the Vierkleur in triumph. On the very same day, Paul Kruger boldly annexed Goshen to the South African Republic. This really put the cat among the pigeons. There was a tremendous outcry at the Cape and Rhodes asked for British military intervention.
Sir Charles Warren set out from the Cape with a large force and arrived in Vryburg early in 1885. Those in favour of British rule were jubilant, but the Transvaal Governmentâs reaction was immediate and dramatic. President Kruger withdrew the annexation proclamation and Du Toit hauled down the Transvaal flag. The southern part of Bechuanaland, incorporating both Goshen and Stellaland, became a Crown Colony while the northern part became a British Protectorate. The short-lived, inglorious era of the freebooters came to a sudden end.
Meanwhile, Massouw was still causing trouble to the north with his persistent cattle raiding, and the Transvaal government decided to take action. A force of nearly 1Â 000 men was raised, with the Commandant-General himself, Piet Joubert, in command. Joubert, always a cautious man, upon reaching Mamusa attempted to negotiate a peaceful settlement with the Chief, but the younger members were itching for a fight and, led by one of the more impetuous young Commandants, Piet Cronje, they climbed the hill up to Massouwâs fort and demanded the Chiefâs immediate surrender. A heated argument ensued â a shot was fired and bloody battle was joined. So fierce was the fray that within minutes ten Boers lay dead.
However, by the end of the Battle of Mamusa, Massouw had suffered a terrible defeat. The Chief himself and all of his counsellors were killed. An extremely unfortunate aspect of the battle was that a large number of women and children were caught up in the crossfire and also perished. The Koranna tribe which, for more than a century, had trekked all the way up from Table Bay, was finally completely destroyed. Fewer than 100 people escaped with their lives that fateful day. They were dispersed among the surrounding tribes and soon lost their identity.
Today the sole reminder of this bloody massacre is the town of Schweizer-Reneke. The name commemorates two of the Transvaal Boers who lost their lives in that battle, Captain C A Schweizer and Veldkomet G N Reneke. Maybe it is time we looked at this place name again and, in the interests of reconciliation, take the other side into consideration.
As for Scotty, the fall of Goshen and Stellaland made very little difference to his life. He remained a law unto himself â nobody could prevent him from going where he wanted to and doing exactly as he pleased.
During Sir Charles Warrenâs expedition to annex southern Bechuanaland, Scotty was hired as a guide. Shortly after this Scotty purchased a farm and a store in the Kheis area on the Orange, now Senqui, River. But he did no actual farming there. This was merely a cover and a convenient hiding place for stolen stock, before they were re-branded and prepared for market. He acquired a second farm just outside of Amalia village, not very far
His appeal to traditional Boer hospitality did the trick. Over breakfast the aggression and suspicion gradually subsided and soon they were on friendly terms. Rhodes actually stayed in the Boer camp for a week and became godfather to De la Reyâs grandchild. Soon a deal was struck. Rhodes guaranteed the Boersâ possession of their farms and cattle and they in turn agreed to accept British rule. Once again the tribes, in this case the Batlaping, lost out on a deal struck between the British and the Boers.
Further north in Goshen, Montsioa was also getting the dirty end of the stick, eventually being forced to surrender practically all of his lands to the freebooters. Gey van Pittius took charge and declared the country Transvaal territory, whilst S J du Toit hoisted the Vierkleur in triumph. On the very same day, Paul Kruger boldly annexed Goshen to the South African Republic. This really put the cat among the pigeons. There was a tremendous outcry at the Cape and Rhodes asked for British military intervention.
Sir Charles Warren set out from the Cape with a large force and arrived in Vryburg early in 1885. Those in favour of British rule were jubilant, but the Transvaal Governmentâs reaction was immediate and dramatic. President Kruger withdrew the annexation proclamation and Du Toit hauled down the Transvaal flag. The southern part of Bechuanaland, incorporating both Goshen and Stellaland, became a Crown Colony while the northern part became a British Protectorate. The short-lived, inglorious era of the freebooters came to a sudden end.
Meanwhile, Massouw was still causing trouble to the north with his persistent cattle raiding, and the Transvaal government decided to take action. A force of nearly 1Â 000 men was raised, with the Commandant-General himself, Piet Joubert, in command. Joubert, always a cautious man, upon reaching Mamusa attempted to negotiate a peaceful settlement with the Chief, but the younger members were itching for a fight and, led by one of the more impetuous young Commandants, Piet Cronje, they climbed the hill up to Massouwâs fort and demanded the Chiefâs immediate surrender. A heated argument ensued â a shot was fired and bloody battle was joined. So fierce was the fray that within minutes ten Boers lay dead.
However, by the end of the Battle of Mamusa, Massouw had suffered a terrible defeat. The Chief himself and all of his counsellors were killed. An extremely unfortunate aspect of the battle was that a large number of women and children were caught up in the crossfire and also perished. The Koranna tribe which, for more than a century, had trekked all the way up from Table Bay, was finally completely destroyed. Fewer than 100 people escaped with their lives that fateful day. They were dispersed among the surrounding tribes and soon lost their identity.
Today the sole reminder of this bloody massacre is the town of Schweizer-Reneke. The name commemorates two of the Transvaal Boers who lost their lives in that battle, Captain C A Schweizer and Veldkomet G N Reneke. Maybe it is time we looked at this place name again and, in the interests of reconciliation, take the other side into consideration.
As for Scotty, the fall of Goshen and Stellaland made very little difference to his life. He remained a law unto himself â nobody could prevent him from going where he wanted to and doing exactly as he pleased.
During Sir Charles Warrenâs expedition to annex southern Bechuanaland, Scotty was hired as a guide. Shortly after this Scotty purchased a farm and a store in the Kheis area on the Orange, now Senqui, River. But he did no actual farming there. This was merely a cover and a convenient hiding place for stolen stock, before they were re-branded and prepared for market. He acquired a second farm just outside of Amalia village, not very far
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