Cape Good Hope 1652-1702

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56 Chevalier de Chaumont
(Plate 44)

(See also item 57.) Translated from his ‘Relation de l'Ambassade ...’;, Paris 1686. There is also a Dutch translation of 1687, and an English one in Strangman, but with a number of unindicated omissions. He was sent out as Ambassador to Siam, in return for the two Siamese Mandarins who arrived in Paris in 1685 to propose an alliance, and who now returned with him. In addition there were in his ship the authors of items 53, 54, 55, five other Jesuit Fathers, four missionaries, and the ‘young gentlemen’ mentioned in item 55.

I left Brest on the 3rd of March, 1685, in one of the King's ships L'Oiseau, in company with one of His Majesty's frigates* La Maligne. The wind was so favourable that in seven days I found myself abreast the island of Madeira. I had the same good fortune up to four or five degrees north of the equinoctial line, when we encountered calms. The heat was considerable, but by no means oppressive. The wind returned and we crossed the line in longitude* 350½ degrees, thirty-three days after our departure from France. The water in the main hold was as good and as fresh as though it had just been drawn from the fountain and we drank it in preference to the water in the tanks. Five degrees south of the line we found the wind very changeable, but the heat did not trouble us, and throughout the voyage I never left off my winter suit. The winds, though variable, none the less bore us on our way, so that we arrived at the Cape of Good Hope on the 31st of May [dr]. There I took in provisions and water, although I still had sufficient of each to last another forty days. What I found rather astonishing was the answer I received from one of the pilots whose countenance showed no indication of any special aptitude; for, having inquired of him how far he thought we were from the Cape, he assured me as positively as if he had already perceived it, that we should see land in two hours' time. This happened exactly as he said, after a navigation of more than two thousand leagues during which no land had been visible.

I anchored very late in the evening and found in the harbour four Dutch ships [dr 19/4 etc.]. One of them was flying the flag on the main mast. They came from Holland and were on their way to the Indies, whither they were conveying a Commissioner of the Company, who was to take command over the settlements which the Dutch Republic owns in those parts. Monsieur de Saint-Martin, a Major-General and Frenchman by birth, who for the last thirty years has been in the service of the Dutch and is very popular with them, was also on board one of these ships. He was on his way to Batavia to resume the duties of his post. The day I arrived the Commissioner-General [van Reede] sent to greet me, and on the day following he sent his nephew and his secretary to offer me anything that I might wish for. Some inhabitants of the place then brought me, by his orders, presents of fruit, vegetables and sheep, and the four ships were ordered to fire a

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[44] From item 56, probably redrawn from Tachard's plate 35 (with ridiculous additions by the French artist that have been deleted in this illustration).

salute in my honour. In short, nothing could exceed the kindnesses and attentions I received from the Dutch gentlemen of this place.

On the strand of this bay the Dutch Company has a small five-bastioned fort* and, a musket-shot from it, about a hundred houses [see Town*]. These houses, within and without, are as clean as those of Holland. The majority of the inhabitants are Catholics [sic], but they are forbidden to practise their religion. The situation is very beautiful, although its extent is limited by a very high mountain, where dwell numerous monkeys which come into the gardens after the fruit. Three or four leagues away there are several country houses, and a plain nearly ten leagues across lies on the other side of the mountain. Beyond there is a settlement where houses have been built and where the number of inhabitants is rapidly increasing. The climate of the Cape is fairly temperate. Spring begins in October, summer in January, autumn in April and winter in July. The heat at times is great, but it is not unendurable, as a wind constantly blows.

At this place the Dutch Company of the East Indies has a very fine garden*, with handsome palisades of a plant that is always green. The main walk, which has a length of fourteen hundred and fifty paces, is almost entirely planted with lemon trees. This garden is arranged in compartments. In one may be seen the rarest fruit-trees and plants

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of Asia, in another the choicest fruit-bearing trees of Africa, in a third those that are common in Europe, in a fourth some that have been introduced from America. It is very well kept and because of the great quantity of herbs and vegetables it produces, its utility to the outward- and homeward-bound Dutch fleet is very great. I met a French gardener there who, before coming to the Cape had learned his trade in the gardens of Monsieur at Saint-Cloud. The soil of this land is excellent and produces wheat and other grains in abundance. A man, worthy of credit, assured me that he had seen one hundred and sixty ears on a single stalk. The natives of the country appear shrewd of face, but this appearance is deceptive, for they are very stupid. They go naked, except for a paltry skin with which they cover a part of their bodies, and they do not cultivate the soil. They possess, however, cattle in large numbers, and sheep and pigs. They scarcely ever eat these animals, for they nourish themselves almost entirely on milk and the butter which they make and preserve in the skins of sheep. Instead of bread they eat a root* which has the taste of a filbert. They have a knowledge of herbs and use them to cure their diseases and wounds. The greatest lords among them are those who possess the most cattle, and they look after it themselves. They often go to war with one another about their pasture lands. Wild animals cause them much annoyance, for where they live there are many lions, leopards, tigers, wolves, wild dogs, elands and elephants. All these animals harm them and their cattle. The weapon they use is a kind of spear which they poison in such a way that it causes the death of the animal it wounds. At night they shut their cattle into a sort of enclosure. These people have no religion. It is true that, when the moon is full, they observe certain ceremonies, but these have no religious significance. Their language is very difficult to learn.

There is a great quantity of game, such as pheasants, three or four sorts of partridges, peacocks, hares, rabbits, roebucks, deer and wild boars. The deer are in such abundance there that at times thirty thousand of them are seen together on the plains, as I was assured by reliable persons [? Springbok]. We ate some of their venison, which is very good and wonderfully tasty. The sheep are astonishingly large, often weighing eighty pounds. There are also many oxen and cows.

Wild horses are numerous in the country. They have black and white stripes, are exceedingly handsome and very difficult to tame. I brought back the skin of one. The Bay is full of excellent fish. There is one, big and thick, which has the taste of salmon. Seals are plentiful. They used to play around the bow of our shallop*, when we went about the bay. We fired at them, but we did not succeed in killing one.

As this is an excellent country the Dutch will not fail to establish large colonies in it. Every year they send expeditions into the interior, and it is said they have discovered mines of gold and silver, but they take good care not to talk about them. The water is good and springs are plentiful. There are numerous rivers, and they are well stocked with fish.

We left this roadstead on the 7th of June [dr] and set a course for Bantam [and thence to Batavia and Siam].