Echoes from the Past (The Brigandshaw Chronicles Book 1)

by Peter Rimmer

  "Are you an Afrikaner?" she asked.

  "No," laughed Seb, answering her in Afrikaans. "My partner was Tinus Oosthuizen. General Oosthuizen. We hunted together for years and to pass the long nights round the fire he taught me the language of his father…I miss him very much…You don't make many friends in life…I hope you'll be happy with us while Billy writes his book. I'm sure it will be very good. Alison, Tinus's widow speaks Afrikaans. So does Emily, a little. All the children are bilingual and Harry also speaks Shona. That's my eldest son. When he was growing up he had a black friend. We never did find out what happened to Tatenda…Your children don't like wearing shoes."

  "No."

  "Neither do mine. Emily calls them little savages."

  "Which animal gave you your hat?" she asked.

  "An elephant. I hunted elephant for their ivory when I was young and foolish. I keep the hat to remind me never to do it again…With all these dogs I rather think you also like animals, Miss Mostert. What happened to her pups?"

  "Kei took them. The father was Blackdog."

  "Now that sounds interesting. Tell me on the way to the farm. The kids can go with Billy and my father-in-law in the farm cart. You come with me in the trap and we'll lead the way. My father-in-law is rather starved for intellectual conversation and has been looking forward to Billy. Do the dogs ride or run?"

  "They've been running all their lives."

  "Haven't we all."

  After an hour it was clear both of them were trying to have different conversations.

  "We seem to be at cross purposes," said Henry Manderville. "When you live in isolation you will understand. Seb, Emily, Alison, even Tinus when he was alive and living with us. We had all talked out everything that was in our minds. You want to know my everyday reality and I want to find out what is happening in England. Enough to ask, did you bring any books?"

  "A trunkful."

  "Then I am at your service. My impatience can wait. Now, what do you want to know?"

  "Where are the indigenous people? I see herd after herd of animals but where are the people?"

  "We rather take it for granted but I have talked about it with Seb and Seb's brother, Nat. He's the missionary who is going to marry them after all these years. Says there is so much to do for the natives after they've heard the word of Christ. You'll see his new church. I think it rather incongruous, a great big red brick building in the middle of the bush. But Nat says it's just the start. The emblem of what Christ will do for them. The cross from the top of the church throws a long shadow when the sun goes down…At the beginning of the last century a renegade general of Shaka Zulu went north to escape the wrath of his king. After many stops and starts he conquered Matabeleland. With him from Zululand went some of the best soldiers in the world. What they wanted they took. What they didn't want they killed. The Shona, a loose affiliation of tribes speaking the same language had no answer to the Zulu stabbing spear. In many ways it was similar to the Roman short sword and just as effective. Mzilikazi the first king of the Matabele was succeeded by his son Lobengula. For decade after decade they sent impis killing and stealing every year until Rhodes put a stop to it. In Africa, if you are strong it's easier to live by rape and pillage than hard work. The Shona were decimated. We estimate a population of a quarter of a million in Rhodesia an area the size of England and Wales. Nat says they need modern medicine. The infant mortality rate is appalling. There is very little order or government beyond the village level and the local chief. To get away from the Zulu assegais the Shona have lived for generations in the hills like rock rabbits trying to survive. Once, so they tell us, the Shona were the royal tribe of central Africa. There are strange ruins all over the place. What we British have to do is put in law and order so they can get on with their lives. There's an awful lot of work and their witch doctors don't like our interferences. They won't want to lose their power over the people. We had a rebellion but that's over and with all the new immigrants coming in we'll soon have the place humming. It's a very beautiful country, Mr Clifford. With God's blessing we will make it flourish."

  "The only snag is people don't like to be ruled by foreigners."

  "We all have to be ruled by someone, someone we usually never know. Provided the ruler is fair and just I don't think it matters where he comes from."

  "You should tell that to the Irish."

  "Yes, I suppose I should. So you think the people of Ireland would be better off free of the Empire?"

  "Probably not. But their hearts think otherwise. Pride is a strong part of a people. A proud people don't like to be told what to do by foreigners. The history of mankind is littered with wars of liberation. Liberation from class oppression. Liberation from poverty. Liberation from being told what to do by a foreigner."

  "And the liberator stirring up the trouble is always after power. History is also littered with people trying to free themselves from their liberators. It's one thing to say what you are going to do for the people and another to do it. Most of your hopeful liberators are great orators or successful generals. The generals fare better. They parcel out the spoils to their cronies and kill anyone who wants a new liberation."

  "Doesn’t that sound like the English? Sort out Lobengula, restore law and order and give the land to the English pioneers who conquered the country."

  "You know more about Rhodesia than I thought. Isn't British rule better for the Shona?"

  "Maybe you should have asked them."

  "Their leaders will say no. They want power like the witch doctors. With Lobengula dead they no longer have to fear the Matabele."

  "Instead they have to fear the British."

  "Does the cycle ever end?"

  "Not until we destroy the planet."

  "You don't believe in British justice? The rule of law?"

  "Most often in life we have to choose between the best of many evils. The Greek and Roman Empires are examples of periods of man's progress. I rather think the British Empire is another. But don't tell that to my Irish editor or my Irish heart."

  "What I see is right, others see as wrong."

  "Maybe all of us are using excuses to benefit ourselves. Only a fool cuts off his nose to spite his face."

  "Maybe you should tell that to your Irish Republicans."

  "Touché."

  "The trick is to see the right from the wrong, the wood from the trees."

  "I like your use of the word trick."

  "You think we should have stayed out of Africa?"

  "I think it will give you a lot more trouble than it is worth."

  Billy Clifford stood up on the footstep in front of the farm wagon for a better view down into the Mazoe Valley. As far as his eyes could see elephants were moving in a dust-covered line north-west, mile after mile of moving giants with in between the young herded by the old.

  "What is it?" he said in awe.

  "The great elephant walk," said Henry Manderville next to him. "I've heard of it. Never thought to see the migration. Why Seb named the farm Elephant Walk. Tinus knew. Every fifteen, twenty years the elephants move north or south. No one knows why. Primal instinct. Going on long before man. They swim the rivers, the little ones holding their mothers' tails by their trunks. Seb's lucky. The line is north-west of the farm."

  "How long will it last?"

  "Tinus saw it once. When they were crossing the Zambezi River. River bank to island. Island to river bank. Went on for days, flanked by predator prides of lion keeping their distance. Have a look through the field glasses. I can make out fifteen, maybe twenty lion sitting off the moving line in the long grass waiting for the weak. Away from the lion will be the hyena and jackal, scavengers waiting for the lions to kill. In the msasa trees will be vultures and crows though it's too far to see even with the glasses. The crows are the last in line to pick the carcass. Nature at its most powerful, even horrible. Some die for others to live as life evolves down the thousands of centuries. That, Billy Clifford, is a sight you and your children wil
l never forget."

  "For the first time since boarding the train the twins have been quiet when awake." Billy turned to smile at them in the back of the cart.

  "Come on," said Henry Manderville, "Their mother's waving. Seb's moving again. It's safe to go down into the valley if we keep to the east. Emily on Elephant Walk will hear the rumbling of the moving herds and wonder what it is. Even after years in the bush my daughter can be frightened."

  "The power of nature," said Billy as he sat back on the board that made a driving seat.

  "The power of God."

  "Will we ever understand?"

  "However much we try. Never. I don't think we are even meant to understand. I have tried all my life without success. Now there goes Seb in a hurry back to the farm! They've been in love since they were children and that's what makes it all worth the while."

  Slowly, Henry Manderville let the horses take the farm cart down the pass into the valley. Ahead, the trap was picking up a nice speed towards Elephant Walk. Henry turned once more to smile at the twins seated on the trunks quite happy to let life take them wherever it was going.

  If you loved reading my book, Echoes from the Past, and have a moment to spare, I would really appreciate a short review on Amazon click here. Your help in spreading the word is gratefully received.

  Principal Characters

  Alison Ford: A nursemaid

  Arthur Brigandshaw: Sebastian's eldest and debauched brother

  Barend, Tinka, Christo: Tinus's children

  Billy Clifford: A newspaper reporter

  Bess Brigandshaw: Nathanial's wife

  Captain Eddie Doyle: Captain of the Indian Queen

  Emily Manderville: Sebastian's childhood sweetheart

  Elijah: Head foreman on Majuba farm

  Ezekiel Oosthuizen: Father of Frikkie, Karel and Piers and brother of Tinus

  Fran Shaw: Gregory's Shaw's wife

  Frikkie Oosthuizen: Nephew of Tinus

  Gregory Shaw: Friend of Sir Henry Manderville

  Harry, Madge, George, James: Sebastian's children

  Helena (Crouse) Oosthuizen: Mother of Frikkie, Karel and Piers

  Jack Slater: A company man and acting administrator of Rhodesia

  James Brigandshaw: Sebastian's second eldest brother

  Jeremiah Shank: A discharged and blacklisted seaman from the Merchant Navy

  Karel Oosthuizen: Nephew of Tinus

  Kei: A Majuba farm boy and son of Elijah

  Lord Edward Holland: Jeremiah Shank's mentor

  Martinus Jacobus McDonald Oosthuizen (Tinus): Friend and business partner of Sebastian

  Mathilda Brigandshaw: Sebastian's mother

  Nathanial Brigandshaw: Sebastian's third eldest brother

  Piers Oosthuizen: Nephew of Tinus

  Sarie Mostert: A poor girl from the slums of Pretoria

  Sebastian Brigandshaw: Central character of Echoes from the Past

  Sir Henry Manderville: Emily's father

  Tatenda: A native boy who loses his family and home after a massacre by the Matabele

  The Captain, Archibald Brigandshaw: Sebastian's father

  Zwide: King Lobengula's Induna

  Glossary

  Baas: A supervisor or employer, especially a white man in charge of coloured or black people

  Bittereinder : A faction of Boer guerrilla fighters resisting the forces of the British Empire in the later stages of the Second Boer War

  Burgher : An Afrikaans citizen of the Boer Republic

  Charles Rudd: A business associate of Cecil John Rhodes

  Clive: Clive of India -- A British officer who established the military and political supremacy of the East India Company in Bengal

  Consols: A name given to certain British government bonds (gilts) first used in 1751 (originally short for consolidated annuities)

  Dorp: Afrikaans for a small village or town

  Kerel: Afrikaans for a boy

  Kloof: Afrikaans for a deep glen or ravine

  Klop: Give someone a smack

  Kopje: Afrikaans for a small hill in a generally flat area

  LRAM: Professional Diploma for Licentiate of the Royal Academy of Music

  Major Frank Johnson: Headed a pioneer expedition into Mashonaland and established Fort Salisbury near the Makabusi River

  Mampoer: A South African moonshine made from fruit (mostly peaches or marulas) containing a high level of alcohol and drunk neat

  Oom: Afrikaans word used in a respectful and affectionate form of address to an older man

  Ouma: Afrikaans word used in a respectful or affectionate form of address for a grandmother or elderly woman

  Rinderpest: An infectious viral disease of cattle and domestic buffalo

  Rondavel: A westernised version of the African-style hut

  Sub judice: Latin for "under judgement" meaning that a particular case or matter is under trial or being considered by a judge or court

  Taal: The language of the Boers which would become known as Afrikaans

  Tatenda: Shona for thank you

  Topi: A pith helmet of Indian origin

  Veld: Afrikaans word for open, uncultivated country or grassland in southern Africa

  Vlei: Afrikaans word for low-lying, marshy ground, covered with water during the rainy season

  Wallahs: A native or inhabitant of Indian origin

  Author's Note

  Having finished writing Echoes from the Past on the 7th September 2000, I was deeply sad, as I always am when finishing a book, but I was soon back writing the second book in the Brigandshaw Chronicles, Elephant Walk. Since then I have gone on to write a further fourteen in the series which I hope you will look forward to reading over the coming years. Currently I am working on the seventeenth!

  I am very privileged to live on a smallholding in a very beautiful and remote part of South Africa. My little farm backs onto an indigenous forest. I love my forest, and it is where I have walked for so many years listening to the characters in my books before going home to write the story. I truly hope you get as much pleasure from reading my books as much as I enjoy writing them.

  Peter Rimmer

  About the Author

  Peter Rimmer was born in London, England, and grew up in the south of the city where he went to school. After the Second World War, and aged 18, he joined the Royal Air Force, reaching the rank of Pilot Officer before aged 19. At the end of his National Service he sailed for Africa to grow tobacco in what was then Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe.

  The years went by and found him in Johannesburg founding an insurance brokering company. Over 2% of the companies listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange were clients of Rimmer Associates. He opened companies in the United States of America, Australia and Hong Kong and travelled extensively between the branches.

  Peter Rimmer now lives a reclusive life in his beloved Africa, writing his books.

  Also by Peter Rimmer

  "Cry of the Fish Eagle"

  "Vultures in the Wind"

  And coming soon…

  "Bend with the Wind"

  Connect with Peter Rimmer

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