Alex. Struben's Trip 93 



Tete. As I say, many of his memoirs were lost and I 

 am not certain as to the details of this trip, but he 

 was certainly the first white man to reach the 

 Zambesi from the Transvaal. 



On his return journey, he tried to avoid Mazila, 

 but the Kaffirs had instructions to take him to the 

 head kraal, where Mazila took most of his things 

 from him, and kept him so long that he got malarial 

 fever, of which he died after reaching Pretoria. I 

 had heard nothing of him for so long, that I sent 

 my trusty old natives " Klaas " and " Jonas " with a 

 wagon and comforts to go as far as they could (for 

 tsetse fly) and try to find him, which they did near 

 a Mr. Heanert's farm in the Spelonken, where he 

 had just arrived, very ill. These good people were 

 very kind to him until he was able to be put into my 

 wagon and come on to Pretoria. Alex, told me that 

 he got on fairly well until the " tsetse " fly killed 

 first the two " salted " horses I had given him, then 

 one after another the donkeys, until the old donkey 

 stallion (skin and bone from fly poison), carried him 

 to Seguarragwarra's on the Limpopo, whence he was 

 carried partly by bearers and partly in the wagon to 

 the Spelonken. It was pitiful to see him shivering 

 with ague and fever in the hottest weather and 

 covered with blankets. 



