Set in southern Namibia, Great Namaqualand, ‘Bittersweet Karas Home’ is the story of three families, the Hills, Walsers & Hartungs, whose lives merge and intertwine in a semi-arid land that presents both hardship and blessings. Over the next few months, we would like to share this bittersweet saga with you from the (as yet) unpublished book.
A model farm (cont . . .)
The day in March 1900 was eerily calm and serene, but clouds gathered in the late afternoon, creating a dark-blue ominous sky with a purple tinge, portending a violent storm. The furore in the sky woke Carl Wilhelm during the night. The rain pelted down, slashed leaves and drummed crescendos on tin and shingle. Margaret was already up allaying the children’s fears. Carl was not quite sure whether to feel elation or to be afraid. He opened the door to peer out. In the distance, flashes of lightning emanated out of the darkness followed by rumbles of thunder that gradually approached Ukamas and the dunes. The lightning became so intense that the smallest rock could be discerned for a few seconds before torrents of rain poured down. Carl Wilhelm imagined the riverbed filling up with swirling water, creating a maelstrom and a deluge, battering the wall of the dam and cracking it. When the storm had subsided, he lit a lantern and cautiously walked out to a scene of destruction. Boulders, branches and tree trunks were scattered everywhere. The jagged remnants of the wall that had been ripped open told him that years of work and moments of pride and bliss had been erased. Where vine, sunflowers and orchard trees once grew, exhibiting shades of emerald against the red and brown sand, abundance had vanished into rubble and sand. Dongas cut deep wounds into the soil. He would never forget the frightening roar and hum of the river finding its way out of the dam and the look of terror on Margaret Susan’s face when lightning dowsed her in a shrill and sudden brightness. He wondered if he would have the energy to rebuild yesteryear’s green paradise, and if he, at the age of 44, was still strong enough to begin anew.
The years up to 1900 were happy ones on Ukamas. The additions to the family were a source of joy: Rosa Agnes or Rosie (born in 1886), Charles Adrian (1888), Cyrus William (1889), Cecilia Dinah or Cissy (1891), Margaret Anna Nathalie (1893), Julia (1896) and Leslie Wilhelmina (1897). When Margaret Susan was busy in the large house with its 18 rooms and large veranda, she could hear her children’s chirpy voices through the open doors and windows. They would be playing with puppies and half-tamed meerkats in the shadow of the acacia trees that were buzzing with bees and bumble bees coated yellow with pollen.
The Walsers continued in the Hill tradition of educating children, a mixture of home-schooling, private tutors and boarding school. The boys, like the Hill boys, learned Nama and bush craft from their Nama and San friends and accompanied the adults when they hunted and engaged in farm chores.
The education of four of the children was crowned by an education in Switzerland. In 1898 Carl Wilhelm took his daughters, Rosie and Cecilia, and his sons, Charles Adrian and Cyrus William, to Switzerland where they attended the Institut Schmidt in St Gall, adding fluent French and German to their English, Afrikaans and Nama. The sons also attended the St Gallische Kantonsschule, a technical school, from 1905 to 1906 where they excelled in German, French and English.
The Walser children were cared for by their aunts, Frida and Rösli (Rosa), and their grandparents. The Swiss Walsers were well-off, knowledgeable, caring and cosmopolitan. Great Uncle Theodor lived in Staten Island, New York and Great Uncle Emil in London. The Walsers were enterprising, versatile and open-minded. The four children were initially homesick for the red dunes, rainstorms, springbok and their Nama and San playmates but they quickly learned to love the Alps. During the summer holidays they spent days rowing on the lakes near St Gall, went for long hikes and appreciated the breathtaking scenery. The boys enjoyed their holidays with their uncles Emil, Willie and Edgar in London and their chance to be part of the London business world that the uncles were accustomed to.
(Join us every Sunday to take a step back in time and follow the interesting, sometimes sweet, sometimes heart-wrenching tale.)