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Father, Rebecca, Morris, his sister Mrs. Stewardson[56], her husband and two children returned from Cape Town. Father was no better and Rebecca still ailing. Mr. Lawton and the men went back with the vessel and a short while after Morris and we again started overland so as to collect some of the outstanding debts. When we came to Jonker’s place Morris took the Fish River road and we Amarals.

Whilst outspanned one day a large troop of elephants was seen coming towards the water – some of the men went with their guns, but only frightened them away. When we got within a days journey from Elephantsfontein[57], father, being much better, rode on ahead on horseback and on reaching the Mission Station saw no one so he went to Amaral’s house and asked if Mr. Tindall was absent. He was told they were all laid up with fever. He then went back and knocked at the door and a very weak voice said “come in”. He saw they were all helpless, not able to help each other. Seven servants, one after the other, who had come to attend to them were attacked by the fever and had to go home. Indeed more or less all the people on the place were suffering. A hundred and twenty died there that season. We, of course, on arrival there attended to the mission family and one after the other we were all prostrate except Tom – he escaped. We had a most trying time and the day my little brother died[58] was the first that Mrs. Tindall was able to be up, thus there was one (tho’ still very weak) able to attend to the sad duty of putting his remains in the trunk which had to be his coffin, as there was no one able to make one. Fortunately there were just four young women well enough to carry it to the grave and a few men to prepare that. Some of the poor people had to be buried just outside their huts as there were no people to bury them. One poor man crawled on his hands and knees to drink water at the dam in the night and was found there dead the next morning. Our wagon driver also died. Not having proper medicine and provision, it is surprising most of us were not carried off, but God whom we found a “Help in Need” saw fit to spare us. – As soon as we were able to move, we decided change of air would be the best for all of us, and as the season was now over, it would not do to attempt the Cape journey so we started for Walwich Bay again and thank God! all got stronger and improved as we got on.

The veldt was very dry, and after leaving Jonkers, we were obliged to leave the old road for want of water – for some distance we kept near the Swakop River, then not much known and much frequented by lions. One night we were travelling down the bed of the river, it was moonlight and just after we had spanned out and were having supper, there was a rush and shouting and firing of guns and such a confusion ! The cause of all this was, that as the man went to turn the oxen, he came upon a rhinoceros lying under a tree not many yards from the wagons and as the man came near he jumped up and rushed after him – fortunately one of the bullets fired hit him on the right spot and he dropped down dead about fifty paces from the wagons. Of course there was a dispute who had killed him.

It was proved to be Mr. Tindall’s wagon driver as the ball showed when cut out, his gun being a little different from the others. There was any amount of game.

Another day they shot seven buffaloes and one rhinoceros. We caught the calf of one of the buffaloes as it came near the wagons looking for its mother. We surrounded it and one of the men caught it by the foot. Another day as we were trekking along the banks of the river a wounded buffalo came and rushed into the span of oxen pulling our wagon, the leader got frightened and left the tow. The oxen must have thought it was another ox for they did not mind it at all and after walking sometime between the oxen in the yoke the buffalo must have found out his mistake and gently turned out of his own account. The men were afraid of causing an accident if they interfered with him while he was in the span, but, as soon as he was a little way from the wagons the driver shot him. The poor thing dropped down dead a few yards from the wagons. We again met a large troop in a narrow pass and the wagons had to stop to let them go by. At last we reached Sandfonteinwhere Stewardson had been left in charge – the old houses now were nearly covered entirely with sand, the sandhills having shifted with the constant wind which blows every afternoon.

In about two weeks father decided to return to Jonkers to collect some debts, so we accompanied Tindalls on their return. We now took the Swakop road all the way to Barmen, the Rhenish Mission Station. Mother and the children were left on Sandfontein, only Richard[59] and I going with father. One morning we came to a water in the bed of the river and found the remains of a buffalo which the lions had killed the night before. As it was Saturday father and Mr. Tindall said they would stand over Sunday there. We accordingly drew up under some fine trees a little distance above the water. Two of the men were sent that evening to sleep near the water, so as to turn the cattle should they stray down the river. During the night the lions came to get their buffalo and not getting it, I suppose, were not in the best of tempers and got scent of the two men and seemed inclined to attack them, but they managed to escape by running to the wagons where there was such a noise made, shouting and firing off of guns, that the lions were kept off, but the next night they came so close to our wagon, that was a little distance from the fires, and the other wagons, that one came and smelt at the meat that was hanging on the tree and came to the basket hanging at the side of the wagon. From there they walked along the yokes smelling them too and finished by jumping over the disselboom of Mr. Tindall’s wagon. We thought it time to leave such dangerous quarters next morning. We next came to Otjimbegwe[60], no one was living there then. It was afterwards made a Mission Station and then the principal station of the mining company many years after and now is the central village of the country. Here, as we were crossing the river the wagons stuck fast in the sand and while they were trying to get them out, the boy let father’s horse stray and the lions killed him.

We spent a few days with Mr. Rath at Barmen, Mr. Hahn and family had gone to the Bay, we had met them on the road. At Jonker’s place the Tindalls went to their station and we remainded. When father saw he could not succeed in getting any of his debts, he tried to get back to the Bay, but could get no men, there was always some excuse or the other. We were kept here for months. At last Mr. Haddy returned from Cape Town to his station – he had been absent for eighteen months. A short time after, Mr. Morris and his nephew came from the Bay, they went overland with the cattle. Mr. Morris had been left in Cape Town. We at last started for Sandfontein accompanied by Jonker and a Mr. Fielding for a couple of days and a young man, Mr. Haddy had brought to trade for him, and another young man Mr. Sherman, who had made his way from the Bay with Bassingthwaighte and was returning there now. We had rather a quiet journey and reached home[61] one morning, delighted to find mother and the children quite well. That same night my brother Robert[62] was born. Soon after we moved to the Swakop River[63] to live where we could make a garden.
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