Gun Accidents in Early Kwazulu-Natal Roger Ingle

Gun accidents in early KwaZulu-Natal

by Roger Ingle

uring the first three dec- the Cape and later by the Voortrek- ades of the 19th century, a kers in their move northward into the Dsmall group of white adven- interior.1 This was the bobbejaanboud, turers resided at the then remote Port a spectacular class of gun uniquely Natal to trade and to maintain somewhat South African. In vernacular Cape precarious communication with the Dutch, it describes the unusual shape Zulu nation. The hopeful prospect for of the wooden stock, viz. a baboon this risky enterprise was the lucrative thigh. Many were monsters, some with harvesting of ivory and buffalo hides. a muzzle reaching as high as a man’s Guns were essential to this task. How- chin and with a bore often one inch in ever, it seems the hunters were often in diameter and firing a lead ball wrapped more danger from their own firearms in linen weighing over a hundred grams. than from the elephant and buffalo. It required a sturdy soul to shoot them. Their guns would have been typical Most were smooth-bore and some with of the muzzle-loading hunting pieces straight grooves cut in the inner surface that played such an important role in of the barrel, this sometimes being mis- our national heritage. In particular, one taken by collectors for rifling. The long thinks of the huge gun widely used by barrel had little to do with ballistics. the early hunters and frontiersmen at It was to enable the muzzle-loading

barrelled, of enormous calibre and that two tenths of the bullet must be tin. This is a sine qua non observed by all South African hunters. He attempted to hunt hippo in the Umgeni River but was “defeated by the mighty mosquito”. There was a good market for hippo ivory as it was harder than elephant ivory and thus used in the manufacture of dentures. An illustration in his book Voyage dans L’Afrique shows a classic bobbejaanboud with a barrel about one metre long extending back to what appears to be a cap-lock ignition system. It is more likely that his gun at that time was a flint-lock, the percussion cap-lock system not being in general use till much later. Perhaps the illustration was produced some time after his African experiences. The travelling hunter at the time would have had several guns, some being of smaller calibre with perhaps Bobbejaanboud a fowling piece for game for the pot. When in pursuit of dangerous game, flintlock gun to be loaded by a man on a trusty gun-bearer would be close at horseback, with the butt resting on the hand with a second elephant gun in the ground. When the trigger was pulled, event of a shot being botched. Added a flint, held in a spring-loaded cock, to this danger, the use of exposed black would fall and strike a serrated iron friz- powder and the muzzle-loading system zen, thus creating a spark. This would was intrinsically dangerous. There were ignite some exposed priming powder numerous accidents at the time and in a small pan on the side of the barrel. later, well into the 19th century. The The resulting flash would go through accounts that follow have been taken a small touch hole to fire the charge in from a number of published sources. the barrel. Modern place names have been used When at the bay in 1839, the well- to identify localities while the language travelled hunter and explorer Adulphe and spelling of those who witnessed the Delegorgue 2 describes such a uniquely events have been left unchanged. The African gun and the preparation of the big guns used considerable quantities of ball it fired. gunpowder and large stores of it were But whether you accompany me on required to sustain operations during a crocodile hunt, or whether you the long periods between visits by follow me in pursuit of buffalo, schooners to the bay or overland trips hippopotamus, rhinoceros or elephant, from the Cape Colony. The unregulated remember that the gun must be single-

The flash from a muzzled-loaded flintlock gun mass-storage of gunpowder led to an killed while several natives were inevitable consequence. seriously burnt. The circumstances In 1835, Mr Collis was the prin- which led to this awful scene were cipal trader in Durban, representing related by a native who was present, and so severely burnt that it is scarcely the Grahamstown firm of Maynard thought he can recover. Mr Collis had & Norden. Beads, guns, gunpowder, gone into the store for the purpose of lead and other basic essentials were taking out a gun for Class then in his exchanged for ivory. The inhabitants service but who had accompanied of the port mostly lived in grass huts in me from the colony as Mr Berkin’s the Zulu style or in more primitive bush servant. In order to try the flint, he had shelters. Mr Collis, on the other hand, imprudently snapped the lock, with had a more substantial dwelling. His the muzzle pointed towards a powder store was made of reeds plastered with barrel, when the gun which had been carelessly put by loaded but without daub and stood amidst a lush vegetable priming, went off; and the explosion, garden surrounded by virgin bush. The which was heard at the Umgeni, took site later became part of the central place. The mangled bodies of Mr business district of Durban. One day in Collis and the Hottentot were blown 1835, this peaceful bay-side setting was to a considerable distance; the skull of suddenly devastated by a huge explo- the infant, which was in the arms of the sion. The event was recorded by Allen servant girl, seated on the outside of Gardiner 3 in his Narrative of a Journey an adjoining building, was fractured; to the Zoolu Country. and she shortly after died of the injury she had sustained. 26th – Mr Collis’s magazine, containing fifteen pounds of powder, Mr Collis’s wife was one of only two had yesterday exploded; and himself, white women in Durban at the time. She his infant child, the native nurse, and must have had a sad and lonely return a Hottentot named Class, had been to England.

Powder horn

Nathaniel Isaacs preceded Allen Gardiner. He was an early pioneer who was shipwrecked while trying to enter the bay in 1825. He hunted and traded in the area and kept a detailed diary. In August 1826 he wrote of an accident which occurred on a small hill on the side of the Bluff overlooking the present-day oil-storage sites at Fynnlands – a small park marks the spot today. 11th August, 1830 – Early this morning I was awakened by the report of a musket, which was followed by a hideous howl. I leaped from my bed and ran towards the mob who had collected at the bottom of the kraal, and there beheld a most painful sight. A poor boy was lying prostrate on the ground, his arm nearly shattered off, with a deep wound in his belly that exhibited his entrails and the upper part of his thigh lacerated. He was bleeding a good deal and faint from the loss of blood, with which he was covered. In fact, the poor creature was so mangled that I had no hopes of reviving him. The natives began already to howl, conceiving him to be dying or dead. William and Francis Fynn, like myself, were inexperienced, and knew not what to do. We sent for Shingarn, the old native doctor, and then looked into medical books for information. My own judgement was that the arm was much too shattered to be in anyway set again, and that nothing would do but amputation. The native doctor came, and displayed his knowledge by saying that he could do nothing for the dying youth. William Fynn resolved on cutting off the arm at the elbow; accordingly, we gave the sufferer 40 drops of laudanum and drove all the natives away. Modified Brown Bess

Laudanum is a solution of opium dissolved in alcohol. Forty drops is enough to transport the stoutest soul to Shangri-La. He continues: I went to keep his friends from approaching, who were coming to mourn, while William, with his razor, operated; and as soon as the arm was off, I sewed the parts together, dressed the wounds, then lodged the lad in a hut, regulated his diet, put three boys to superintend him, and left him as well as could be anticipated from his mangled condition. The boy had been sitting at the entrance of a hut of another who had been trained to the use of the musket, and was cleaning it. The musket being loaded, accidently went off, and the poor boy, while looking at his companion cleaning the piece, received its contents in his arm and body. The boy recovered from this ordeal, albeit with one arm. Isaacs wrote of Redman 4 bore, being held by the another accident which had occurred author some months before, this time involv- out and set fire to it. The women’s ing a powder horn. Present-day shooters curiosity not being satisfied, the of muzzle-loading black powder guns man put some more on the ground, forgetting, at the same time, to put are prohibited from dispensing powder the stopper into the horn. As soon as from a powder flask or powder horn it had ignited it communicated with at the firing range. For safety reasons, that in their horns, when a violent powder charges have to be separately explosion took place, which blew up weighed and held in individual contain- the hut. Both the boys were burnt, and ers. Although this is a departure from the people became greatly alarmed. the usual way powder horns and flasks The chief, perceiving the hut on fire, were used, it is a prudent rule. Isaac’s and not seeing his brother, thought diary underscores this. from the cries from Nonqua, and observing the other running away, that 15th October, 1830 – It appeared from he had killed his brother; he therefore, the evidence elicited, that two of our without considering, ran after the boy, musket party having been sent to the who was dreadfully burnt, and himself Cayles, they went to Umtondese’s and his people beat him. kraal to beg some corn from their sister, who was the chief’s wife. Later, another burning powder horn Entering the hut of the chief’s brother, nearly changed the course of history where some females were sitting, who in KwaZulu-Natal. The defeat of King asked them what they had got in their Dingane was expedited in 1839 when horns, Nonqua took a little powder Prince Mpande, Dingane’s brother

Natalia 42 (2012) Copyright © Natal Society Foundation 2012 Gun accidents in early KwaZulu-Natal broke away from the Zulu king with there. As many of them had never 15 000 followers. The Voortrekker handled a piece before, some of Volksraad soon took steps to form an their manipulations were amusingly alliance with Mpande. A delegation eccentric; but when they began actually to load and fire “for practice”, led by a landdrost went to conclude the I trembled with apprehension, and agreement. The party must have been the captain, sympathising with me on filled with apprehension. The horror account of his spars and rigging, put of the fate of Piet Retief’s recent visit a hasty stop to the exhibition. I need to Dingane must have been much in scarcely say that not more than two or mind that day. Adulphe Delegorgue three of these men, since they landed was there to witness the event. During in the colony, have ever had occasion the negotiations, for some unexplained to take gun or pistol in hand, unless to reason, Mr Morewood’s powder horn offer them for sale. ignited.4 There was a violent explosion. By 1854 there was sufficient interest Fortunately the only casualty was Mr to form a Volunteer movement. Mus- Morewood, who caught fire and, to put ketry could have helped to promote it in the polite language of the day, was gun safety but it had a slow start and “severely burnt about the loins”. The the dreaded powder horn again left deal was concluded successfully. As its mark; perhaps on the loins of a Delegorgue observed, had one fragment Volunteer or two. George Russell lived touched the King, the matter would and worked in Durban at the time, and have taken a different course. in his book History of Old Durban he As Durban grew, sporting guns be- described an accident. came very popular. Charles Barter was Not content with learning how to carry, a lawyer who had a successful career in shoulder, and present arms, we must those early days. He arrived in Durban hurry on to the real thing, so soon in 1851 and had the following to say of began with what the Instructor called his fellow passengers: “blank cartridge”, but as guns were But whatever their age, or calling, of all sizes and no cartridges were to or previous habits, or to whatever be had, while very few knew how to employment they might look forward make them, we overcame the difficulty on their arrival in the land of promise, by bringing our own powder horns and not one of them was without a gun. flasks, with paper or rag for wadding Such a collection of fire-arms I had in our pockets. A slovenly carpenter never seen before – singles and man, standing in the rank between doubles, smooth-bores, two-grooved, John J. Chapman (spared to be Mayor and poly-grooved, of all sizes and of Pietermaritzburg) and myself, after qualities, from pea-rifle to the monster firing his fowling piece once or twice, elephant-gun using four-ounce balls, was preparing to “load and prime”, from the costly and highly-finished when his powder flask was blown Lancaster to the cheap Birmingham out of his hand and exploded. The pistols; revolving and not revolving; shock and scare caused Chapman and all these, and many more were there myself to feel for our wounds but, as to be found. The very ladies carried nothing gory resulted, we descended light fowling pieces and the caboose upon the carpenter in wrath by way of was continuously beset by bullet- gratitude. This incident led to a general casters, to the great discomfort of order prohibiting flasks and imposing the good-natured black who presided cartridges.

The cartridge referred to was a NOTES measured charge of powder and a ball 1 Muzzle-loading guns were made in quantity at wrapped in a paper sleeve. This would the Cape from the early 19th century onwards until the later advent of breech-loaders. be torn open, the powder poured down However, some gunsmiths may have used the barrel followed by the compressed intricate components such as lock springs paper from the cartridge to form a supplied by specialist British and Continental wad and then the ball. Subsequently, makers who served the trade. 2 See Natalia 4, p 43 and Natalia 5, p 30. old Tower muskets were issued with 3 Allen Gardiner was an ex-Royal Navy officer factory-made cartridges, and later the who, after the untimely death of his young Durban Rangers were issued with out- wife and retrenchment on half pay, decided to of-date Brunswick muzzle-loading devote the rest of his life to opening up new areas for missionary work. The Zulus in South rifles, one of the worst rifles ever to see East Africa became his first priority. He was a service in the British Army. They fired brave, headstrong man with deep convictions a ball cast with a raised ring encircling and thus controversial. In 1835 he named the it which engaged two rifling grooves in bay d’Urban after the then Governor of the Cape. On his return to England he wrote Nar- the bore. George described how he had rative of a Journey to the Zoolu Country based to dismount, pick up a stone and ham- on his diary during his stay in KwaZulu-Natal. mer the ramrod to get the ball down the 4 Edmund Morewood was the harbour master barrel and seated on the wad. It is sur- of the Voortrekkers at the time of the Battle of Congella. prising there are no records of broken hands and airborne ramrods. References The introduction of metallic car- Berkovitch, Barry The Cape gunsmith tridges, more stable powders and Delegorgue, Adulphe Travels in Southern Africa, breech-loading guns over the years that 2 vols. (Pietermaritzburg: University of Natal followed must have saved many a life Press, 1990, 1997) Bailey, D. W. British military long arms 1715 along the way. – 1865 Barter, Charles The dorp and the veld. (London: William S. Orr and Co., 1852) Gardiner, Allen Narrative of a journey to the Zoolu Country in South Africa: undertaken in 1835. (London: 1836) Russell, George History of old Durban. (Durban: P. Davis & Sons, 1899)