Delegorgue’s Journey Through the Zulu Kingdom
Apr 13th, 2014 by bachmann
Louis Adulphe Delegorgue, born in 1814, embarked on lifelong travels at the young age of 16. His greatest passion was for Africa, which supplied him with endless naturalist interests and satiated his tremendous appetite for big game hunting. Delegorgue’s travels in Southern Africa began with his arrival in Cape Town in 1838, and lead to an extensive exploration of the inland territories of Natal and Zululand, where he collected specimens and hunted and killed a large number of animals for sport. He returned to France publishing an account of his travels in South Africa. Untrained and without any fromal scientific education, Delegorgue had an unusual mixture of adventurous, even violent, temperment with a proclivity toward careful and thoughtful observation. He was certainly reckless at times, arrogant, perhaps even duplicitous, collecting numerous specimens for scholarly study but also acquiring ivory and hides for personal gain. In a similar way, he studied indigenous people he met, but concluded that they were inferior to the Europeans, merely suitable to hold and carry his gun during a hunt. Yet, on the other hand, he took the time to compile an extensive dictionary of Zulu vocabulary, the earliest known to be collected and published, even still considered a valuable linguistic resource today. On a later expedition, he died of fever during a trek across the African continent at the young age of 35. While not a household name amongst the African explorers of the 19th century, his legacy remains. The college of his home town was named after him, along with several animal species, including the Delagorgue Pigeon.
“What paltry reason can justify the death and destruction of such beautiful, strong and excellent animals? What are a couple of hundred pounds of ivory compared with the long service which such animals might render to man for generations? I was perfectly conscious of the mischief I was doing but I was a hunter first and foremost.” trans. from French.
“I dropped flat on the ground, throwing aside my excellent gun, which had now become a useless thing, and I folded my arms one over the other to cushion my forehead. Inexorably, the buffalo came thundering towards me; I caught a glimpse of his flaring nostrils, tinged with blood; seven more paces and I would be annhilated….” trans. from French.
“Suddenly a very different sound arose; the singing of voices to which my ear was unaccustomed. The circle of warriors parted to reveal the most picturesque sight; that sacred group, the Cafre sultan’s harem, had appeared…The neck was encircled by four copper rings. The women appeared so much restricted by these that they were unable to turn their heads freely. I admit that I found this fashion ridiculous- beautiful, perhaps, but even less useful than a copper collar on a dog….” trans. from French.
“This was the first encounter in which the Amazoulous had retaliated with firearms. They had take the guns off the settlers killed at Touguela, but their ill-aimed shots produced no visible effect. The thousands of assegais streaking through the air would have inflicted much damage had a closer approach been possible; but the Boers had the advantage, whenever the attack grew particularly menacing in any sector, of being able to rake the vanguard with grapeshot.” trans. from French.
- Description:
- Delegorgue, Adulphe. Voyage dans l’Afrique australe :notamment dans le territoire de Natal dans celui des Cafres Amazoulous et Makatisses et jusqu’au tropique du Capricorne, durant les années 1838, 1839, 1840, 1841, 1842, 1843 & 1844. Paris : Au Dépot de Librairie, [1847].
- Persistent Link:
- http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:FHCL:10999498
- Repository:
- Widener Library
- Institution:
- Harvard University