Fourth Journey (MS 107/3/1-2)
26th July 1779
transcription
[26th July 1779]
26
term 60 - 78 - 66. door den dag n:w: dreigende regen.
het heeft gepasseerde nagt sterk uit den oosten gewaayt. dog niet kout geweest. heb de koorts sterk gehadt, en myn been is door getrokken, en iets beter. Engelbregt bragt my met zyn paarde karretje in twe uren by de Lange klip, by myn Wagens. vond hier de weggelopen, (voor een jaar na de namacquas) vicar geheten, een Sweed sig seggende de neef van coopman hasselgreen te amsterdam, hy was eerst schoolmeester omtrent swarte en sneeuwberg geweest, synde voor seven jaar van de caap weggelopen. en had pardon gekregen. hy was 30 dagreisens de riviers regter oever opgeweest. syn verhaal staat agter op. hy had een wyfjes Cameleopardalis vel by zig. vond hier de heer Paterson weder, en wy aten te samen. eenige ossen weggelopen zynde, bleef by de wagens, en sy Paterson en Engelbregt reden na Engelbregt. zag hier een namacqua die seer lange wol op zyn hooft had, so dat het hem tot op de schouwders hong. vroeg hem om eén lok er van, en na hem de reden om te laten zien gesegt te hebben, liet hy het my, voor wat kralen toe.
[page 8]
zag hier enige oude namacquas die van de kinderpokken geschonden waren, zy seiden die in het grote namacqua land gekregen te hebben toen hy jong was. dat die siekte binnen uit het noorden uit het land komt en nu en dan er is, en er veel aan gestorven zyn de hottentot nog eens gevraagt sei hy had niet gehoord dat ze er zedert geweest was. heb weer een spreukje van een Capt Cupido gehoord seggende, dat de kwade geesten boos op de kleine namacquas zyn en dat de haas gesegt heeft dat sy dood moeten en blyven en dat hy dat gelogen heeft also hy van eenige geesten gowaaps moest seggen dat zy over de zee, weer by malkanderen met alle vee en dieren souden komen. hebben hierom een grote haat op de haas. by hun cami of geluk maken eten nog kinderen nog vrouwen mede. Cupido had enige bikkeltjes om de regter hand en om zyn regter been.
translation
[26th July 1779]
26
Thermometer: 60-78-66.
Wind north west throughout the day; Rain threatening.
Blew strongly from the aast last night, but was not cold.
Have had a high fever but my leg is pulling through well and is somewhat better.
Engelbrecht took me two hours in his horse-cart to the Langklip where my wagons were. Found a runaway , by name of Wikar (who was a year with the Namaquas), a Swede who says he is the cousin of the merchant Hasselgren of Amsterdam. He was formerly a schoolmaster in the Swartberg and Sneeuwberg regions. Ran away from the Cape seven years ago but has got a pardon. He was thirty days’ journey up the right bank of the river. His account is at the back of this [journal]. He had the skin of a female giraffe with him.
Found Mr Paterson here again and we ate together. Some oxen having strayed, I stayed with the wagons and they, Paterson and Engelbrecht, rode to Engelbrecht’s.
Saw here a Namaqua who had very long wool on his head so that it hung to his shoulders. Asked him for a lock of it and having told him why I wanted it (namely to show it), he let me have it for some beads.
[page 8]
Saw some old Namaquas here who have been disfigured by smallpox. They talked of having it in the Great Namaqua Land, when he was young; that the disease come to the interior from the north of the land, and comes now and then, and that many had died of it. When asked again, he said that he had not heard that it had been there since.
Again heard a tale from a Chief Cupido, relating that the evil spirits were angry with the Klein Namaquas and that the hare has said that they must die and stay dead; and that he has told a lie. Because he had to say, from several spirits called Gowaaps, that they would come together across the sea with all livestock and animals. For this reason they have a hatred for the Hare.
At their “cami” or good-fortune-making neither children nor women join in the eating.
Cupido has some knucklebones around his right hand and his right leg.