Description Game and Gold Much of this story comes from the recollections of Henry T. Glynn, founder of Sabie in Mpumalanga, taking us from Cape Town to Mashishing, spanning over five decades from the 1830’s. Along with this family of hunters and explorers, we travel to the diamond fields at Kimberley and the gold fields at what was then called Lydenburg. We hear tales of the laager at Kruger’s Post, the herds of eland at White River, Sekhukhuni and his account of wounded amaSwati making their way home after a battle with the Bapedi, adopting a young Vatsonga child, one of twins, on the insistence of the baby’s mother, a man called Albasini, the discovery of gold at Sabie and many more. Through these stories we get a glimpse of a country teeming with all kinds of wildlife, with all the danger and excitement this offered. We also see something of how the different peoples lived, how they interacted with other, and how they were affected by the discoveries of diamonds and gold. Born to a life of adventure Look how lovely the moon is over the Sabie River tonight, my friends, perfect for fireside storytelling. Did you know that once, a very long time ago, the people who lived here believed that this river was haunted by ghosts? Back then the river was known as the Sabi, and the ghosts were said to be those of drowned soldiers who had taken part in clashes between different clans. This waterway flowed through the farm Grootfontein, where a young Henry Glynn decided to settle in 1896. Glynn was to keep a diary of his experiences in this region, from the discovery of gold to the continued political strife and battles between British, Boer and Bapedi. He was also a great hunter, who described the devastation of the country’s game population. Get comfortable, and let us start at the very beginning of the life of this trailblazer. Henry Thomas Glynn was born to a life of adventure, under the shadow of Table Mountain in 1856. When his Irish grandfather died, Henry’s father and some of his brothers decided to sell off the family estate and emigrate from Ireland to South Africa. They had heard much about this new land of opportunity from friends who had travelled there. In those days the voyage itself was quite an adventure and took from 100 to 120 days. Glynn Senior loved exploring and hunting. He and his brother, Thomas, often made trips from Cape Town to the interior during the years 1854 to 1856.They were strong fellows and particularly good shots. In most respects they were well-suited to life in the colonies. Shooting was a popular sport in the Cape in the early 1860s, but it was a pastime which was to have dire consequences for the game population of the future and we will get to that later in our story.
