Their destination was the Butter River. The name, explained the master, comes from the time when he was still young. The Dutch called it like that and today everybody stuck to the name. It was the land of the Chainouqua and many of those who were displaced by the Dutch inside the ring of the Great Mountains moved there as well. They had thousands of cattle that grew fat on the soft grass along the Butter River valley and on the coastal plains. The river flowed throughout the year and at the coast there were strong fountains about a day’s travel away from the river mouth. All of this allowed the herds to cover a wide area.
Anyway, said the master, the Dutch started buying butter from the KhoiKhoi. First it was a wagon full but not long after there were whole convoys of wagons that crossed the Great Mountains with barrels and jars that they intended to fill with butter, some for their own use but most to be sold to the passing ships. The Dutch, continued the master, are the cleverest people in the world when it came to making money from something. They will do anything for a profit, even if it meant going up and down Eland’s Pass.
“Do the wagons still go out there for the butter?” asked Hadah.
“Yes they do, but not as many as before. There are many Dutch farmers now who have their own cows. Even so, they still make butter along the Butter River and sell it to whoever comes. When we go there you will see the women shaking the bags of goatskin that they hang from the trees. That’s how they make it. Afterward they store the butter and the buttermilk in clay jars to keep it cool. We will taste some of it when we get there.”
They slipped down the mountain on the shady side and crossed the valley until they reached the foothills of the Great Mountains. Their first obstacle was the nearest farm.
“This farmer is always in a bad temper,” said the master. “Now he will be even more so. The whole valley will be in uproar because of the slaves that they had lost. We’d better keep away from the roads near the farms.”
There was a hill with a round top on the floor of the valley and they climbed it to spy out the lay of the land. From their cave that they had left earlier they could see the farms clearly below but it was too far to see the movements of people. Before them now they saw vineyards stretching into the far distance. Closer to them were squares of corn which were double their height and just below them was a neat field that had been freshly ploughed. It was being worked by about a hundred slaves, each bending down in a row. They were planting something. Between them walked the Dutch overseers, hands folded behind their backs and dressed in black coats over white shirts, even in the heat of the morning. On their heads they wore big-brimmed hats, also black.
“They look just like big crows,” said Hadah, laughing.
“Yes, it’s funny,” agreed the master. They always dress like that, except for the farmers far away from Cape Town. There some of them dress like us. Unless they visit Cape Town. Then they look like that as well.”
The sounds of a bell clanged out over the valley. They could see a slave ringing it energetically in a little tower close to the massive house of the owner. The workers stood up and left the field as one.
“It’s time for breakfast,” the master said. “Some of the herders explained it to me. When the edge of the shadow of the mountain reaches that rock over there on the slope, they break for the first time. Then there is another rock and then another for the other two times that they feed the slaves.”
Hadah swallowed. Yesterday’s meals were far away. His eye fell on the sheep that were grazing close by.
“It’s not a good idea,” said the master, without turning his head. “We will get food on the way and besides, one or more of our people will get into trouble.”
They looked around for the herder but saw nobody.
“They will round up the sheep tonight,” said the master. They call this hill ‘Sheep’s Hill’ because they like to graze them here during the day and bring them back into the pens at night.”
“What do you see?” asked Hadah, because the master was looking intently into the distance.
“I need a spyglass,” said the master. “I am looking to see what I can pick up in Table Bay. This hill is the place where the previous owner kept a lookout to see when ships came into the bay. He always had somebody up here with a spyglass.”
“Then shouldn’t we get going?” asked Hadah. “Maybe that man is coming back.”
“That was the old owner. The new owner is not the same. He only keeps a shepherd up here.”
“But you said he is a dangerous man.”
“He is. Still, the old one was not much better.”
“What was he like then, the previous one?”
“He was the governor himself,” said the master. “He planted all these vineyards and all these trees that are from another land. He also had so many heads of cattle and sheep that he had to build cattle stations and sheep pens everywhere. They were too many to keep in one place. Never before did one man own so many things.”
“Isn’t it right that the king should have the most?”
“It is right that the king must have more but he must also share fairly with his people and take care of them. This man was different.”
“How?”
“He was greedy, greedier than any other person in the land. He wanted all the good things for himself. He knew that this valley is the best in the whole world, something that our people knew for a long time. That’s why he came here and took it for himself.”
“How did he get so much cattle and sheep?”
“He bought most of it from the Cochoqua and the Chainouqua. They say that he bought it with company funds although it was his farm and not belonging to the company.”
“Why did he do these things?”
“That is a long story. He came here long before there were farms. Our people were still living in this valley. That was when a special bond developed between him, this valley and our mountain. He was no more than a boy at the time.”
“How did that happen?”
“His father was the governor before him and they say that as a boy he got everything that he wanted. He only had to ask his father. He wanted to hunt so his father arranged for him to go on hunting parties. The soldiers who took him along taught him how to shoot and he became a very good shot. They say that inside the castle there are many rows of skins and heads of animals on the walls that he had shot, including dangerous ones like lion, elephant and rhinoceros.”
“Did the soldiers bring him to this valley?”
“Yes, they did. They killed all the big animals that roamed the plains. Then they killed the animals along the river where Stellenbosch is now. When there was nothing left, they came to this valley. There were still some eland here that came in the summer over Eland’s Pass. And they killed the lions as well. There was a pride of lions that lived in these mountains for many, many years. They killed all of them, big and small. Our people who lived here were very happy about the lions. They had to use lots of tall branches to build their cattle enclosures, in order to keep the lions out at night but they always got in and killed cows, sheep or goats. Often they would kill more than they could eat. Our people hated the lions.”
“So he did something good?”
“They thought so at first, but they missed something. When he was not hunting he climbed up onto our mountain and sat there for long times, even days, looking down at this valley. You can imagine what he was doing.”
“He was thinking about what he wanted to do here.”
“Yes. He was making plans and there was no place for our people in those plans. That is what they failed to see. He planned everything you see here before you now. He did not get to it immediately. First, he went back to Holland to learn and to find a wife. Then, when his father became old, he told the Lords of Seventeen that he wanted to come back as governor. They appointed him, not knowing that he wanted one thing above all.”
“This valley.”
“You are clever, Hadah. This valley and this mountain drew
him with a strong power. All the time that he spent in Holland he was still dreaming, planning about one thing and one thing only: this place. He calculated what he wanted to plant on the fields and he drew up plans for the house that he wanted to build right here below us. It was going to be the biggest house that anybody had ever built. One day after his ship had landed in Table Bay he took a horse and came here with some soldiers. They camped for a night and the next day they went back. He did not need to stay long because he already knew exactly what he wanted to do, including where he wanted to build his big house.”
“It is a big house indeed.”
“Ha! The house that you see down there is not the big one that he built. They broke it down just a few years ago and used the material to build four smaller ones. What you see there is one of the smaller ones.”
“I cannot imagine something like that house you are talking about.”
“Yes, you cannot. Nobody had ever seen anything like that. The fleet that brought him here from Holland were full of materials for that big house. They loaded it all on wagons, long trains of wagons that just kept on coming. That is when we saw how much these ships can carry in their bellies.”
“I think I can see a ship in Table Bay,” said Hadah. “I just cannot see whether it is coming or going.”
“I see it. It has just arrived. Governor van der Schoon would have been interested. Do you know why? He wanted to sell his produce before any of the other farmers. This was still in the days when the cannons only talked to the farmers on the day after ships had arrived in Table Bay. Since our governor wanted to be the first, his man up here would run down and tell him how many ships had arrived. Then they started harvesting. The next morning when the other farmers got the news that so much of this or so much of that was needed, his wagons were already on their way to Cape Town. In this way he was one day ahead of anybody else. When the other farmers arrived with their goods the ships had sometimes already bought everything that they needed and they had to go back with their produce.”
“Were the other farmers not angry?”
“Yes they were angry. That is why they complained. But what did the governor care? All he had on his mind was this valley. He could not bear to be away from here. At midday he would leave the castle with a fast horse and buggy. Twice he changed horses at stations that were there only for him. In the evening he was here. Then he stayed the next day until midday before he left for the castle again.”
Hadah pondered it all for a moment and then asked the question that bothered him. “You told me the story about the young Dutchman who was killed by the serpent on the hot side of the mountain. Why did the serpent not do anything about this governor, especially when he was young and hunting on our mountain?”
“The spirit liked him,” said the old man, “for reasons that were peculiar to this man, even when he was young. He was haughty and proud, but above all, he was greedy, very greedy. It was an incurable flaw in his spirit. And through his greed he could be controlled. That is what attracted the serpent to him.”
“What were its plans with the governor?”
“I don’t know exactly, but I don’t think it worked out well. The spirit gave him everything that he wanted and then he showed that he was ungrateful. He probably ignored the directions that the spirit gave him. So the mountain turned on him. It fired up his greed so much that it became his enemy. It got out of hand and destroyed his reputation.”
“I suppose the Lords of Seventeen regretted their decision to make him governor.”
“Yes, they called him back to Holland. He had to leave all his things. Other people took everything that he had. His large farm was split into many. He was finished.”
They passed close to an outlying orchard full of velvety orange fruit. A heavenly smell lay on the warm breeze. Hadah found that his feet led to the orchard all by themselves.
“No! Where are you going?” asked the master. “Think before you do something.”
“My apologies” said Hadah. “It just smells so nice and there is nobody around.”
“Not today maybe. But tomorrow somebody sees you and one of our people gets flogged in retribution.”
“Did the governor plant these trees as well?”
“He planted many kinds of trees. Some grew well and give lots of fruit like these and some failed. That was the other thing that he brought in those big ships and that came here on the wagons. Nobody had seen these trees before.”
They followed the footpaths that were made by the many grazing animals all along the foothills of the Great Mountains, taking care to stay well away from the cultivated floor of the valley.
They moved along at a brisk pace but they did not run.
“If we run,” said the master, “we will attract attention. Right now we look no different from any other herdsman.” That was true. Each of them had donned a pair of rather dirty and torn shorts to fit in.
***
Grant had the watch for the next four hours and it promised to be a quiet one. When he saw Madeleine’s back disappear down the companionway there was still nothing but dead air. He surveyed the horizon in all directions and saw nothing but low, lumpy seas that did not go anywhere in particular. To the west the back of the storm was still visible and on the northern horizon a few fluffy clouds dotted the skyline. After the storm the temperature was markedly lower, so he placed himself in a corner where he could get some sun. For the second time on the trip he nodded off during watch. He dreamt that he was standing on a mountain, his mountain, above the clouds that drifted in from the northwest and covered everything before his feet in a thick layer. He wondered if he could walk on the clouds.
He woke up from a slapping noise. He quickly realised why. There was wind! And it had veered. They had set the sails for the trade wind from the east but it moved around the back of the boat and became a fresh breeze from the south west. He changed the sail plan, carefully gybed the booms around and set course in a north-easterly direction.
Soon they were doing nine knots again. Grant had used the double-rig configuration to its best advantage and the boat ran ‘wing-on-wing’.
Madeleine appeared when the sun was already inclining to the western horizon.
“Have you slept some?” Grant asked. What made him ask was that she had obviously spent time in the bathroom and more time in front of a mirror. He was disappointed to see that the budding sailor woman had made way for Barby once more.
“A bit,” she said. “And I just had to use your golden taps.”
“Apologies that I can only offer you a shower,” said Grant.
“It’s ok. It was refreshing anyway.”
“You did remember to turn off the taps?”
“Of course. How could you presume that I would not?”
“I’m just thinking of the tale of these four old guys who bought themselves a yacht and went cruising. Three days into their first journey they sent out a Mayday. They had no water left because a chap forgot to turn off the shower.”
“I’ll remember,” said Madeleine.
“We carry five thousand litres of water,” said Grant. “Which means that showering is not an issue. Many of these smaller cruising yachts carry so little that some guys just don’t clean at all, for weeks at a time. You must smell them when they arrive at a marina after two months at sea.”
“Do they have showers at the marinas?”
“Yes, normally they do. When a yachtsman arrives and heads for the showers first thing, you know there is not much water left on board.”
“Before we get to that point I think we can split up the water. I shower and you go in the sea.”
“Or the other way round,” said Grant.
“I’ll take the shower. If you are nice to me I will volunteer to make dinner. Somehow I am hungry again. What would you like?”
“Anything,” he said. “Warm up some of the pre-packed meals. But not beef curry for me. I had some last night already.”
She made a chicken ni
ght out of it. Chicken a la king for him and chicken curry for herself. Chicken was not his favourite dish but what the heck. It had to be eaten sometime. She came up the stairs balancing a plate of food in each hand, complete with fork and knife. He put the knife down and got to work with the fork.
“I told you everything about the house where I grew up,” she said, “but you have not told me anything yet about the castle you are building.”
“I suppose we were interrupted by a squall,” said Grant. He put his plate down and disappeared down the companionway. When he came back, he had a blank sheet of paper and a pen.
“This is the basic layout,” he said and drew a number of lines on the paper. He grabbed his plate again while she studied the sheet.
“I see thick walls and a courtyard, with buildings inside the courtyard. This looks a lot like a medieval design.”
“That is exactly what it is,” said Grant. “I’m going to find lots of body armour and swords and deck out my main hall with it. It will be a period piece.”
“Like the castles on the hilltops in Europe.”
“Exactly. Everybody who passes by on the highway down below will be able to look up and see it.”
“Are you going to make a tourist attraction out of it, like we do with ours?”
“No. I think I will live there alone. It will be just for me and my mates. Now and then I will descend with my para-glider and scare the population, but I don’t think I want too many people around.”
“Who will pick you up if your para-glider lands below in the valley?”
“I’ll make a plan. I’ll have some people working for me.”
“But not a wife.”
“Who knows, maybe even a wife.”
“And are you going to walk around dressed like people from five hundred years ago?”
“Why would I do that?”
“It would be cool, I think. Think of all the parties you can throw, with everybody dressed up in period clothing.”
“It’s an idea. I never thought of it that way.”
The Triangle and The Mountain: A Bermuda Triangle Adventure Page 7