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Burgers Ward II Piet Retief District
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The Labuschagnes as Hunters Frontiersmen have always been hunters, and the Labuschagne pioneers were no exception. From their earliest arrival in South Africa, they would have hunted and fished the wild valleys of the land in an attempt to add variety to the menu. From family anecdotes, we know that a certain "Jan Harm Labuschagne" who hasn't been positively identified yet, served as one of the gunsmiths during the Great Trek. He was apparently also noted as a great ivory hunter. From the Great Trek hunting days we don't know much, but we do know something about the hunting activities of the Rooi Leenderd Labuschagne branch. The Rooi Leenderd branch, is described in the Battle of Vegkop section, and briefly appears as follows: Leonardus Petrus Labuschagne ~1 May 1790, Swellendam district + Hartebeesfontein, Heidelberg district, Transvaal xxx 2/4/1815 or abt 1827 Anna Wilhelmina Christina Pieterse +Hartbeesfontein, Heidelberg district, Transvaal.. His children: For the purposes of this discussion, Leonardus Labuschagne would be regarded as the representative of the Rooi Leenderd branch. Why he was called "Rooi Leenderd," is not known, unfortunately. Some months after the battle of Vegkop, the Voortrekker leader Pieter Retief appeared from the Cape Colony--an arrival upon which many Trekkers had been waiting. Apparently a good number of Labuschagnes had joined his trek, and the family reunion at Blesberg (Tabanchu), would have been a joyous occasion. It was soon decided that the trek would go to Natal, where Piet Retief believed he could purchase land for the settlers from the Zulu king, Dingane. First, however, a great expedition under Andries Hendrik Potgieter, Gerrit Maritz and Piet Uys was organized to strike back at the Matabele and repay to them the murders of the Liebenbergs and other families who had been massacered, and also to recapture some of their livestock that had been driven away at Vegkop. This expedition proved to be phenomenally successfull, and it would have been likely that Leenderd Johannes Labuschagne and perhaps some of his other relatives would have joined in the expedition. If this was the case, they would undoubtedly have seen the country in the north-western Transvaal. What they saw must have appealed to them, and they must have made a note of its location in case an opportunity for settlement in that region should arise later on. The Trekkers returned from the battle of Mosega with a vast booty of captured cattle. At Mosega the Matabele nation had been largely defeated and routed so that they translocated to Mashonaland (where they commenced slaughtering the inhabitants in typical Matabele fashion). This transcation left the central highveld relatively safe for the Trekkers, and brought peace to the bewildered survivors of the Mfecane genocide, who were living miserable lives in mountains and caves, and often existed in such wretched conditions that they had been driven to cannibalism in order to survive. After the battle, the Trekkers started heading south towards Natal, as had been decided on by the majority of the Voortrekkers. The Rooi Leenderd branch were followers of their cousin Andries Hendrik Potgieter, and may possibly have shared their leader's dissatisfaction at this new course of direction, as they had their hearts set on moving further north--away from British influence. In light of the need for unity, however, it was decided that the Potgieter trek would follow the Retief, Uys and Maritz treks, who were already streaming towards the Drakensberg mountains which separates the Transvaal highveld from the lowlands of Natal. After the disaster at Italeni, however, a bitter argument ensued, which caused Andries Hendrik Potgieter to turn around and head up the mountains again to pursue his own independent course. The Rooi Leenderd branch may have been delighted at having been able to head back towards Mosega. Unfortunately a lot of trouble would still plague the Trekkers before then. In Natal, Piet Retief and his companions were murdered by Dingane just after their hoped-for land deal was concluded. Then followed the Battle of Blood River, in which two Labuschagnes took part. Eventually Rooi Leenderd's branch did manage to settle in the north-western Transvaal. A few kilometres south of the present town of Zeerust, they selected a piece of land and called it "Kafferskraal"--probably after the original Matabele settlements which might have been cleared up during the war against the Matabele. Here they would have hunted to heart's content. Almost next door to them, lived one of the most famous Boer hunters of all times--the legendary Jan Viljoen. Jan Viljoen and his friend, the equally-famous ivory hunter, Petrus Jacobs, made periodic long treks into north and nort-western parts, where they collected ivory which scould be sold for much-needed foreign currency. Whether the Labuschagnes ever formed part of their hunting operations, we do not know, unfortunately. It would be safe to assume, however, that they must have shared many hunting stories between them as they visited on each other's farms. The Viljoens sometimes disappeared into the Mashonaland region for long periods of time, and at their return there probably would have been a great deal of conversation as the waggons were unpacked and the stacks of beautiful yellow ivory was produced. This ivory would probably have been sent the prodigal distance to Graaff-Reinet and Grahamstown, where it would have been saled to agents who would export the precious commodities to England. Rooi Leenderd basically grew up in the Marico district since he arrived there before he was a teenager, and only left there when he was a man. One night his father rode home on his horse, when he was pounced upon by a lion, which knocked both him and his musket out of the saddle. Scrambling for the nearest tree, Leenderd Sr. climbed it quickly and so escaped the claws of the lion. His horse, Bonaparte, on the other hand, had not been so lucky. From his tree-top perch, Leenderd Sr. had to sit all night and listen to the sound of crunching bones as the lions devoured what had been the fastest horse in the region. Over time, the Transvaal gradually became cleared of game as farmers developed the land and drove off or killed the game that would compete with their commercial activities. Nevertheless, a lot of game still continued to exist in the Boer republics, but this changed radically in 1896 when the dreaded bovine disease, runderpest, struck the country. Runderpest decemated the game population of the Transvaal and the Free State, wiping out million of head of cattle, sheep, pigs, and all game with cloven hooves. Only a tiny percentage of animals managed to survive the epidemic, and it would take years for their numbers to build up again. During the Anglo-Boer War the country was devastated, with over 33,000 farms across the two Boer republics that had been destroyed, and most of the livestock either destroyed or looted. It would take years to rebuild the country, and during the first few years after the war when farmers had very little or no livestock, they subsisted to a large degree on wild animals and other food of the veld. During the 1930's many of the farmers had recovered from the war disasters to such an extent that it became possible to go hunting for sport, rather than as an act of necessity. World War I had brought about a large demand for agricultural commodities, and for many farmers this brought about relative economic improvement. The Rooi Leenderd branch was by this time living on the escarpment between Wakkerstroom and Piet Retief in the west and east, and between Ermelo and Utrecht in the north and south. From here, they proceeded during the winter months when farming activities were at an ebb, to make treks to the lowveld where game abounded. Rooi Leenderd's grandson, Leonardus Johannes (Len) Labuschagne, his son Izak Hermanus (Herman), and a relative, Ben Marais, were particularly enthusiastic sportsmen. In the dry Rooi Rante near Pongola, and at the foot of the Lembombo mountains, Len Labuschagne and Ben Marais owned a very large section of land, which provided winter grazing for their cattle. Here, they spent the winter months in a warmer, friendlier climate than on the plateau ridge, and had enough leisure time to hunt and fish. They also had land in the high-rainfall regions and lowveld of Swaziland, where game at that time, was still present in large numbers, and where the hunting was good. Further to the north, they also made frequent excursions to the old colony of Portuguese East-Africa (today Mozambique), where they hunted big game such as lion, leopard and elephant.
Hunting in the 1930's had to be done with ordinary motor cars, since commercial pick-up trucks were not particularly available at the time. The above picture shows Len lighting his pipe while his companion is engaged in tying a set of kudu hurns to the spare wheels with wire.
Roads were not always of the best, and frequent stops had to be made to top of the water levens in the radiators.
Camping was done in style. Caping out for most of the winter months was a common tradition among many families at the time. Tents were pitched with comfortable camping cots in them, makeshift kitchens were erected, and game was cut up into bilton which could be hung to dry in the trees.
Note the potatoes in the foreground, next to the double-barrelled shotgun that is leaning against the bell tent. In the striped dress is Bessie Kolbe, Len's wife.
Len Labuschagne with a roan antelope, shot in Portuguese East Africa. The most famous taxidermist in South Africa at the time was Bob Ivy. His taxidermy work was of a very high standard, even when judged against today's standards. The roan in the picture was mounted and the mount is still in good condition today. The earliest specimen that was mounted for Len's family, was done in 1926, and it too, is still in very good condition. In later years, hunting became an even more popular South African sport. As transport became more reliable, trips to Portuguese East Africa became more frequent.
The Limpopo river had to be crossed on pontoons.
Breakdowns were frequent and spares had to be carried along for any evantuality.
Camping was still done in relative style.
This hippo was shot in the Limpopo river by Len's son, Herman Labuschagne.
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