Murderer

Having spent the last decade tracing my family it has come to light that my Grand Parents, Parents and myself - had spent a lot of time in the Bush and had also experienced Military Training in one or another aspect.

I have no doubt inherited my love for Hunting and Fishing, along with a keen sense of Bush Craft and a great appreciation for the outdoors. I can shoot extremely well and usually only carry one bullet because I do not take chances - an ability frowned on by 90 % of those that can sway power as being cruel to animals !

My delving into the past made a few things very clear, the early Settlers had a very hard time and many did not survive. Those that did survive made use of whatever came to hand and lived off the land for the best part of a 100 years before they managed to fully emerge from the bush.

My walk through the history of the 1820 Settlers to South Africa also opened a can of worms as far as old hatred was concerned. Whereas the Settlers disinherited the Locals of land that had been treated as Free Range, the Locals cared less about murdering women and children to revenge their loss.

I noted too that the Government of the Day considered Human Life to be very cheap when they dumped Wagon Loads of City Dwellers in the bush and expected them to farm the land and defend themselves with shovels and rakes, squashing attempts at improvment by outlawing trade with the Locals to raise Taxes.

Own-Rule was eventually introduced but by then the pickings were getting thin, leaving an economy where the Rich were Super Rich and the Poorest of the Poorest lived like animals - with a Middle Class that just managed to survive, lets leave the Politics there for now.

Many stories from the 1800's depicted hell-on-earth for those stuck in the bush, no infrastructure, no hospitals, no transportation - starving with no-way-out. Families moved on or just simply died-out due to the lack of security,food and healthcare. Many children were left to survive on their own because there was no support in place to care for poor or destitute people.

When the Locals took up arms against the Army, the isolated Farmers were wiped out or their belongings burnt to the ground, making it impossible for the Farmers to rebuild in an economy that offerd no support, noloans and no security.

Whereas many people died, those that managed to survive were indeed heroes in their own way because they had had the ability to turn disadvantages to their benefit. Surviving off the land and thriving in a rural setting where they could live on the smell of a second-hand oilrag !

Now these were the founders of our society who passed-on the survival knowledge to their sons. It has oft been said of me that I have Farming Blood because of my love for the old ways but, Animal Murderer or Butcher in some eyes,I am what I am which is truly proud of the sacrifices made by the Old People.