The Norwegian Settlers: Marburg Natal 1882

a fte r a thorough kneading, w as baked in flat bottom ed iron pots. The resu lt was: tasty m ealie bread. The children w ere delighted w hen treacle could be obtained, and spread on both porridge and bread. (Treacle w as bought from a sm all sugar m ill run by a Mr. J. B. Aiken, near B atsone’s D rift). Pancakes w ere m ade from sweet potatoes, baked on a iron slab (grid iron) and w ere regarded as a special treat, In addition to m ealies and potatoes, beans and various kinds of vegetables w ere planted, likew ise pineapples, bananas and oranges; th e latter had to be grow n from pips.

N eighbouring colonists w ere helpful w ith advice on farm ing m ethods, and often shared w ith th e settlers such produce as they could spare. The first m ealie crop w as a failure, m ainly for the lack of fertilizer.

M ore oxen and cows w ere bought, fairly cheaply, from farm ers and natives fu rth e r inland. It w as not long before Red W ater Fever, Gallsickness and R inder­ p est attacked th e cattle from tim e to tim e and m any died. Some of th e few th at survived, decam ped and w ere never recovered. Ploughing w as a difficult u n dertak­ ing, as th e oxen w ere in m ost cases, wild,, and not properly broken-in; also th ey w ere accustom ed to being handled by natives; they often broke aw ay before they could be inspanned, and took to th e bush.

W hen m ilking had to be done, th e cow’s hind legs had to be tied together, and th e ir heads fastened to a pole, as a safety m easure; th e calf w as allowed to have th e first “pull”, as a prelim inary, before th e cow w ould yield any m ilk. This, of course, reduced th e quantity, which, in any case, was sm all enough, even before the calf had its share.

As th e years w ent by, so th e cattle herds increased in num bers, and m ilk became m ore plentiful; it is estim ated th a t after a few years, the settlers ow ned over 100 head of cattle.

L earning the native language w as a slow process; the few w ords th a t w ere picked up w ere pieced together, resulting in a queer language, referred to as “K itchen K affir”. As farm ing results w ere far from satisfactory or profitable, young men, w ho did not have farm s of th eir own, w ent in search of em ploym ent to distant tow ns, or w here rail-road construction w as in progress. Spinsters also left to seek dom estic w ork, w herever they could secure it.

Food stuffs, and other requirem ents, had to be brought from D urban—100 m iles aw ay, by ox-waggons; swollen rivers w ere often encountered, and goods w ere eith er lost or dam aged, w hen negotiating these rivers, resulting in considerable fin­ ancial loss. One of th e young m en, Paul B odtker—w hile engaged on th e transp ort of goods, w as drow ned at Um zinto, w hen fording the swollen riv er there.

T he m ealies th a t w ere bought w ere often full of w eavils or weavil-eaten, and the porridge m ade from them w as dark and unappetising. A t tim es, only potatoes w ere served at meals.

Inadequate com m unication w ith D urban was a great handicap; and the locality of th e S ettlem ent in th is m ost southern p art of th e province— (100 miles from D urban) m ade m atters worse. The farm s w ere sm all (100 acres) and on m any the soil w as very poor, m aking it difficult to eke ou t a living. Those w ho w ere fortunate enough to have good farm s, often had difficulty in disposing of th eir produce. The m en-folk, m ost of them tradesm en, and qualified in building operations, set about im proving th e ir hom es, erecting m ore substantial houses, in place of th e grass huts; som e used earth-sods, others sun-baked bricks; w hilst some built w attle and daub houses. Doors and w indow fram es w ere m ade from wood (trees) cut in nearby forests. W agons, carts and sledges w ere m ade, and harnesses w ere of leather—m ade from hom e-cured hides.

41