Dagboek van Louis Trigardt (1836-1838) by Gustav S. Preller
Very Scarce- This is limited (Preller) edition number 625 of an unspecified amount made.
Dagboek van Louis Trigardt (1836-1838) by Gustav S. Preller
Hardcover
Publisher: Het Volksblad, 1917 limited first edition.
Good. No Jacket. Afrikaans text. This is limited (Preller) edition number 625 of an unspecified amount made.
The boards are shelf rubbed, edge worn and marked, with the spine discoloured and the pages slightly tanned, but they remain strong and sturdy despite this. Internally, there is a neat signature of the previous owner in filt pen inscribed on the half title page. There are no other markings or inscriptions, and the pages within are neat and complete. The binding is secure.
The only diary of a Voortrekker leader, and the inside account of a party of pioneers achieving with nine ox wagons something that has not been repeated ever since with any other vehicle.
Louis Johannes Tregardt (from Swedish: trädgård, garden), commonly spelled Trichardt (10 August 1783 – 25 October 1838) was a farmer from the Cape Colony's eastern frontier, who became an early voortrekker leader. Shunning colonial authority, he emigrated in 1834 to live among the Xhosa across the native reserve frontier, before he crossed the Orange River into northern territory. His northward trek, along with fellow trekker Johannes (Hans) van Rensburg, was commenced in early 1836. He led his small party of emigrants, composed of seven Boer farmers, with their wives and thirty-four children & native servants, into the uncharted interior of South Africa, and settled for a year at the base of the Zoutpansberg.
At this most northerly point of their trek, unhealthy conditions began to take a toll on man and animal. Seemingly abandoned by a follow-up trek, and distant from supplies and buyers for their ivory, Tregardt abandoned the settlement, and led the party southeastwards to the Portuguese outpost at Delagoa bay that would later become Maputo (the capital city of Mozambique). The oceanward route proved arduous and included the challenge of traversing a section of the northern Drakensberg. Though reaching the fort at Delagoa bay, a number of their party contracted malaria en route. Tregardt's wife perished at the fort in May 1838, followed by Tregardt six months afterward.
He was the only Voortrekker leader to keep a diary of his trek, a valuable document in terms of linguistics and ethnology, besides his observations on the weather patterns, geography and the wildlife of the interior. The diary was commenced in July 1836 at the Zoutpansberg, and concluded in May 1838 at Delagoa Bay. Entries were added almost daily, and seldom more than two days after the events he described.
The document was not written for publication or effect, but rather details his personal reflections on the social interactions and day to day experiences of his small community. In 1917 Preller's version of it was the first to appear in print, followed by T. H. le Roux's more reliable text in 1964 that was supplied with a glossary and linguistic annotations.[4] J. Grobler's annotated translation to Afrikaans appeared in 2013, which significantly improves the accessibility of the text.
