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At last our house was finished[35] and ready for us and did it not really look nice and comfortable although it was only made of long reeds and lined with blue calico. It had a porch before the door. It was built in a hollow surrounded by sandhills and at a little distance almost in a line was the Morris’s house and a store at the end and on the otherside a house for the men[36]. As there was no grass for the horses, father took the men and two waggons and Ben[37] and I accompanied him to Ornaines where they cut two loads of fine long grass. We were away three weeks, and on our return found Mrs. Morris had a little daughter[38]. My mother and Mr. Morris had to act as Dr. and nurse for the first time, none of the profession being in the country. Soon after another vessel came into the Bay searching for guano or an island said to be on the coast. Father could not give them any information about it. Of course it was “Ichebo Iland”[39] they were looking for and which became known soon after and hundreds of vessels crowded there, so that a Man of War had to be sent there to keep peace and order. We met Mr. Bam at Osip, he had just that day had a narrow escape, a rhinoceros having put his horn into the plank of his waggon. In a couple of months our vessel the “Susan”, a brig I think it was, which Mr. Lawton had purchased for our company arrived from the Cape with supplies and a blacksmith, whose name was Nagan and who was afterwards the Cape Copper Companies’ Blacksmith on Springbok for many years; also a carpenter.

Mr. Lawton came with the vessel having given up business in town. The Susan was sent with a shipment of cattle to St. Helena. Mr. Morris going with them to arrange about supplying Government with meat. The vessels came now every day from “Ichebo”, sometimes there were ten or twelve in the Bay at the same time. They came to get fresh meat[40] and had so much merchandise and provisions on board, that father bartered with them for oxen, etc., and had no need to get things from Cape Town or St. Helena. Many natives also came from the interior with cattle, sheep, skins and feathers. Old Jan Boois was one lot or tribe that came and brought a letter from his missionary, Mr. Knoetz, and got a lot of things on credit which they never paid for and what they did pay for with cattle (which were sent to the cattle post at Rooibank, they, Jan Boois lot, actually went and took the oxen they had given in payment for a wagon and spanned them into the same wagon. So much for them and their missionary letter of recommendation.

Mr. Morris returned from St. Helena to fetch his wife and family as he had to stay there to attend to the business and the vessel kept taking cattle over[41]. We had many visitors as our house was only three miles from the Bay, and many of the Captains came up, one or two had their wives with them, Mrs. Malcolm was one, a very nice woman who always lived on board, the ship being a large one and their own. My father sometimes took my sister[42] and me with him on board and on one accasion when I went with him, we saw a Mr. Latham[43] on board of the vessel, he had come from England with it, had been to “Ichebo” and did not care to return to England, and as father wanted a confidential man to leave at the place when he was absent and also a bookkeeper he engaged him. We also got timber enough to build a large house, but there was no time to have it built just now so we remained in the old one. We had also got a lot of English donkeys and we each had our own donkey to ride, so we amused ourselves by riding. We had to help mother with the housework as there were no female servants to be had. Mother tried to teach one of the native women but she was more trouble than our doing the work ourselves. About this time[44] Messs. Rath and Schipmann[45] (German Missionaries) came from Cape Town to join Mr. Hahn and party, so father had their goods brought up and stored and they stayed with us while messengers were sent with their letters to Mr. Hahn, and it was nine weeks before waggons came to fetch them. A short time after they left, Mr. Tindall with his wife and son, came from Amaral’s place where he was stationed as missionary. Mrs. Tindall was suffering from an attack of fever; they had come for supplies.

Father had also got another blacksmith, a young man from England, his name was Bassingthwaighte[46], and he took charge of the two young lions we had. It was most amusing to see him playing with them on the sandhills of an evening. They were very tame with him but one night they got out of their cage and next morning their spoors were taken, but father got on his horse and rode direct to the mussel-beds about five miles down the Bay where there were two large vessels trading whalebones and got there just in time to catch some Hottentots with the lions which they were going to sell. Soon after young Bassingthwaighte and others came there, having followed their track and father gave him his horse to take the lions home. He mounted and took the little lions before him but it was not long before the horse got scent of them, took fright and started off and B. could not check him, the lions were also frightened and clung to him like grim-death and as he said it must have beaten “John Gilpins” ride, for I remember the poor horse was covered with foam and B. pale and nearly breathless got off saying “Thank God I am here, it is my first and will be last ride with lions.”

Many of the Captains wanted to buy the lions but father would not part with them. On one occasion the mate of a large vessel (Lady Maud) made a bet to get them, and one afternoon while father was on board, he came on shore and took the horse from the man who was waiting with him for father to ride home, and to our surprise instead of father we saw a stranger and rather fierce looking man who was armed with pistols and daggers coming riding rather hard up to the house and jumping off hooked the bridle to the porch, came in and asked for Mrs. Dixon. Mother said “I am Mrs. Dixon”, what do you want? Poor Mrs. Tindall who was still weak from the fever and lying on the sofa was terrified. The man said he had come for the lions, father had sent him and he must have them. Mother asked him where his order was, he said in his pocket, then mother asked him how he was going to take them? He said, “On the horse”. Mother told him he could not have them, but he said he must, he then noticed me sitting by the window sewing and came over and sat down near me and began talking to me. Mother then quietly left the room and had the lion’s cage carried into the store and locked up. After a while he seemed to miss mother and remembered his errand. He went out and looked about and not seeing the lions, went into the kitchen where the man was frying some fritters, stuck his dagger into one and walked out. Mother was watching his movements and when he went and took the horse from the boy, mother walked up and took the bridle and told him he could not have the horse again. She then called Saul and told him to take the horse to the stable and rub him down. The man looked at her with surprise and said, “So ! then you will not let me have the lions ? No ! Nor the horse ? No ! How am I to get back to the Bay ?” I don’t know if mother left him standing there and came into the house, however, some time after we saw him walking away rather sheepishly.

Two nights after, the same man made another attempt to get the lions. Bassingthwaighte had a wooden sort of sleeping apartment. It had been on the deck of a vessel and just big enough for a man to sleep in. B. had put some hooks in to hang his gun on, which he always kept loaded, and always slept there as it was near the lions cage. Fortunately the lions were still in the store where mother had them removed to. B. was comfortably asleep, in his cabin as it was called, when he was suddenly wakened by his apartment being rolled over and over, he feared his gun might go off and shouted and made use of some choice language but to no purpose and being a little distance from the house no one heard him, but the lot of sailors who had come with the man to steal the lions and not finding them, they had some fun in playing this trick on B. and wringing the heads off nearly all the fowls and stealing a favourite dog with her pups and also taking the gong from the point in the square, which was not missed till it had to be rung for breakfast next morning.

One day I unintentionally gave mother such a fright. Mr. Lawton and some others had been out shooting and coming in just as we were going into dinner, put their guns down in the room and went out and forgot about them and as the children might get hold of them, mother told me to take Mr. Lawton’s to his room, and I, thinking to make sure of its not going off took the cap and in putting down the lock again it was too strong for me and went off in the room. This was my first shot.
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